Award comes after the forward scored 31 La Liga goals in his debut season
Kylian Mbappe has said it is “a great pleasure” to win the European Golden Boot for 2024-25 after being formally presented with the award during a ceremony at the Santiago Bernabeu on Friday.
The Real Madrid forward won the prize after scoring 31 La Liga goals in his debut season. Those numbers saw him finish ahead of Sporting CP’s Viktor Gyokeres (now at Arsenal) and Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah.
Only league goals are used to judge the golden boot winner but Mbappe scored 44 goals in all competitions.
The ceremony on Friday was attended by Madrid president Florentino Perez, European Sports Media representative Juan Ignacio Gallardo, Madrid coach Xabi Alonso, and Mbappe’s teammates.
Perez said: “Kylian, congratulations on this award, this Golden Boot that you receive today, which is the result of your hard work, your commitment and your passion for football.
“And I want you to know that, as president of Real Madrid, I am very proud to have a player like you on our team.
“You’ll always remember this day. It’s your first Golden Boot and it’s something very difficult to achieve. At Real Madrid, we have had three Golden Boot winners: Hugo Sánchez, Cristiano Ronaldo and Ronaldo Nazario. All of them are great legends of our club and of world football.
“Here you are writing your own history in the white shirt you wanted so much. Our fans adore you and will support you in every challenge. Kylian, this Golden Boot is further inspiration for you to keep winning and contributing to the history of Real Madrid.”
Mbappe said: “It’s a pleasure to receive this Golden Boot. It’s an important moment for me. This is the first time I’ve won this award and it means a lot as a striker.
“First, I would like to thank all my teammates. Thank you very much for coming and for helping me at all times. It’s a great pleasure to play for Real Madrid. Everyone knows it was my childhood dream and now I’m here.
“I thank the entire club: the doctors, the staff, and everyone who helps me on and off the pitch. I’ve had a good start to the year, so let’s see if I can win it again next year.”
