Lionel Messi: Barcelona forward wins record fifth Golden Shoe award
Barcelona forward Lionel Messi says he "never imagined having so much success" after being presented with a record fifth European Golden Shoe award.
The Argentine scored 34 goals in 36 La Liga appearances in 2017-18, making him the highest goalscorer in Europe ahead of Liverpool's Mohamed Salah (32).
Messi's latest Golden Shoe award moves him one ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo, who has won four in total.
"The truth is I had no idea this would happen when I started," said Messi.
"I dreamt of playing professional football and enjoying success, I love the game, but I never imagined I would have so much."
Tottenham's Harry Kane finished third in the rankings with 30 Premier League goals, while former Real Madrid forward Ronaldo - now at Juventus - ended the season with 26 goals in 27 league matches.
Messi currently leads Europe's goalscoring charts once again, with 14 goals so far this term, as he targets a sixth Golden Shoe award.
Courtesy: www.bbc.com
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Dhyan Chand lifetime award to be replaced by Arjuna lifetime
New Delhi, Oct 24: The sports ministry on Thursday announced the discontinuation of the Dhyan Chand Award for lifetime achievement from this year onwards and the introduction of the Arjuna Award Lifetime in its place in a bid to "rationalise" the various sporting honours of the country.
Instituted in 2002, the Dhyan Chand Lifetime Award, named after hockey wizard Major Dhyan Chand, is given to individuals in disciplines that are part of the Olympic Games, Paralympic Games, Asian Games and Commonwealth Games, among others.
In 2023, the award was given to former shuttler Manjusha Kanwar, ex-hockey exponent Vineet Kumar and kabaddi player Kavitha Selvaraj.
"The various schemes for sports awards have been rationalised wherein Arjuna Award (Lifetime) has been introduced in place of Dhyan Chand Award. To recognise the efforts of coaches at grassroots/development level, they are now eligible for the Dronacharya Award," said a ministry statement.
"The Arjuna Award (Lifetime) has been introduced and will be given for life time contribution to sports development.
"Further, to recognize the Khelo India scheme, the Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad (MAKA) Trophy will be given to the University for Overall Top Performance in Khelo India University Games," it added.
The last date for applying for the national sports awards for 2024 is November 14.
