Last season's European Golden Boot race was quite the hotly contested affair between the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Karim Benzema and Robert Lewandowski.

Ultimately, it was the prolific Pole who would come out on top, bagging 35 goals over the course of a very productive Bundesliga season.

Mbappe and Benzema were off the pace in the end, with Liverpool's Mohamed Salah even further back.

But just because they might not have scored the most goals, that doesn't mean that the above-mentioned trio necessarily missed out on topping a different European metric.

While, of course, goals are the currency of football, there is another crucial determining factor that catches the eyes of the best players today - currency itself.

So which of Europe's biggest stars earned the most money per league goal they scored last season?

Well, thanks to painstaking research done by the folks over at SportPedia, we can answer that very question.

By dividing their salaries by the numbers of goals scored, SportPedia were able to come up with a figure of the average amount each man landed per goal he netted.

The 15 players to earn the most money per goal scored

15. Martin Terrier: £47,048 per goal (21)
14. Dusan Vlahovic: £56,333 per goal (24)
13. Moussa Dembele: £126,286 per goal (21)
12. Christopher Nkunku: £132,600 per goal (20)
11. Anthony Modeste: £156,000 per goal (20)
10. Patrik Schick: £177,677 per goal (24)

FREIBURG IM BREISGAU, GERMANY - DECEMBER 19: Patrick Schick of Bayer 04 Leverkusen reacts during the Bundesliga match between Sport-Club Freiburg and Bayer 04 Leverkusen at Europa-Park-Stadion on December 19, 2021 in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany. (Photo by Christian Kaspar-Bartke/Getty Images)

9. Lautaro Martinez: £188,890 per goal (21)
8. Ciro Immobile: £234,963 per goal (27)
7. Wissam Ben Yedder: £266,240 per goal (25)
6. Erling Haaland: £312,000 per goal (22)

DORTMUND, GERMANY - MAY 14: Erling Haaland of Borussia Dortmund applauds the fans following the Bundesliga match between Borussia Dortmund and Hertha BSC at Signal Iduna Park on May 14, 2022 in Dortmund, Germany. (Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images)

5. Heung-Min Son: £434,087 per goal (23)

Tottenham's Heung-Min Son enjoyed an electric season in the Premier League coming within inches of securing the domestic Golden Boot all for himself.

He made a pretty penny per goal scored in the process as well.

4. Robert Lewandowski: £488,800 per goal (35)

BERLIN, GERMANY - JULY 04: Robert Lewandowski of Bayern Muenchen celebrates scoring the 4th team goal during the DFB Cup final match between Bayer 04 Leverkusen and FC Bayern Muenchen at Olympiastadion on July 04, 2020 in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images)

Lewandowski might've topped the goalscoring charts but that ultimately harmed his chances in this particular tussle.

Still, earning nearly £500k per goal scored will probably soften the blow somewhat.

3. Mohamed Salah: £508,696 per goal (23)

LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - MAY 22: Mohamed Salah of Liverpool celebrates after scoring their sides second goal during the Premier League match between Liverpool and Wolverhampton Wanderers at Anfield on May 22, 2022 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)

Liverpool's Egyptian King shared the Premier League's Golden Boot with the aforementioned Son after a blistering start to the season.

Having signed a new bumper deal at Anfield, he could easily top this list come the end of the upcoming season.

2. Karim Benzema: £529,630 per goal (27)

LONDON, ENGLAND - APRIL 06: Karim Benzema of Real Madrid looks on during the UEFA Champions League Quarter Final Leg One match between Chelsea FC and Real Madrid at Stamford Bridge on April 06, 2022 in London, England. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)

It's been quite a year for the French hitman who now stands as many people's favourite to clinch the Ballon d'Or.

Even after a year of brilliance, he still falls well short of the man in front.

1. Kylian Mbappe: £761,429 per goal (28)

MADRID, SPAIN - MARCH 09: Kylian Mbappe of Paris Saint-Germain celebrates after scoring his team's first goal during the UEFA Champions League Round Of Sixteen Leg Two match between Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu on March 09, 2022 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

An unreal return for Mbappe.

Now, with this sort of list, you might attempt to point to a lack of goals driving an average through the roof but that simply isn't the case with Mbappe.

28 goals at £760k a pop is no mean feat.