Jonas and Messi share the throne of the European top scorers

Jonas, Benfica's forward, ended the 2017/18 season in the 1.º placed of Europe's top scorers, tied with Messi, from Barcelona, both with 34 goals scored.

In an analysis to the absolute numbers (goals scored) in the fight for the Golden Boot we notice that Jonas would be one of the 2017/18 winners, because of the Portuguese Championship handicap: each goal worth 1,5 points against the 2 of the other leagues, just like happens in Spain, related to the Portuguese break in the UEFA ranking.

Explaining it differently, if those numbers were related to 2016/17, Jonas would be one of the winners of the Golden Boot, with 68 points, the same as Lionel Messi.

But, even with the Portuguese handicap, the achievement of the Benfica’s striker is remarkable, surpassing names such as Salah (Liverpool), Harry Kane (Tottenham), Lewandowski (FC Bayern), Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) or Suárez (Barcelona).

TOP 10 GOLDEN BOOT - TOTAL OF GOALS

Even in what concerns to Messi, the numbers presented by the Brazilian scorer are superior, as the Benfica's player needed less minutes and matches to reach the 34 goals. 

Jonas, became the top scorer of Liga NOS for the second time in three years. A very special brace in the big championships, only to be achieved by the European Football Elite.

Text: Marco Rebelo

Pics: Archive / SL Benfica