Lionel Messi picked up his record-breaking sixth European Golden Shoe award on Wednesday.

The award is presented each season to the leading goalscorer in matches from the top division of every European league.

Goals scored in the top five leagues according to the UEFA coefficients (currently Premier League, La Liga, Ligue 1, Bundesliga and Serie A) are multiplied by two, goals scored in the leagues ranked six to 21 are multiplied by 1.5 and goals scored in leagues ranked 22 and below and multiplied by one.

The Argentine superstar scored 36 league goals last season - three more than his nearest challenger, Kylian Mbappe.

It also, crucially, means Messi is now two clear of Cristiano Ronaldo in terms of Golden Shoe wins.

And that will definitely hurt Ronaldo.

That’s because, after he took home the award after the 2014/15 season, he claimed that the Golden Shoe is "the best award out there" - better than the Ballon d’Or.

"The competition for the Golden Shoe also comes from other leagues," Ronaldo told De Telegraaf.

I really love this award. It is the best award out there for me. Others can pick you as the best player, but an attacker's job is to make goals and I love that. I cannot deny that I love scoring goals.

When Ronaldo was speaking, he had just won his fourth European Shoe, compared to Messi’s three.

Incidentally, Messi was winning 4-3 on Ballon d’Or wins at the time.

That might explain why Ronaldo said it.

Now, though, Messi is winning 6-4 when it comes to “the best award out there,” while they’re tied 5-5 on Ballon d’Or wins.

The GOAT debate has been settled then...