Since its inception in 1960, the EURO apart from the World Cup, stands as Europe’s premier international football tournament. Despite some legendary players faltering on the continental stage, like Germany’s Thomas Muller and England’s Gary Lineker, who both clinched the World Cup Golden Boot but failed to score in the Euros, there have been notable exceptions. With Germany set to host the 17th edition, EURO 2024 let’s delve into history to explore every Golden Boot recipient in this prestigious tournament.
UEFA Euro Golden Boot winners over the years
From the early days of Milan Galic’s standout performance in 1960 to Cristiano Ronaldo‘s golden touch in 2020, the UEFA European Championship has seen its fair share of goal-scoring legends. David Villa and Fernando Torres wrote their own chapters of glory, Villa’s goals crucial to Spain’s 2008 victory and Torres’ memorable strikes in 2012 etching their names in football folklore. Antoine Griezmann’s brilliance in 2016 and Michel Platini’s record-breaking nine-goal haul in 1984 remain vivid memories
| Year | EURO Golden Boot Winner(s) | Country | Goals |
| 1960 | Milan Galic, Francois Heutte, Valentin Ivanov, Drazan Jerkovic, Viktor Ponedelnik | Yugoslavia, France, Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, Soviet Union | 2 |
| 1964 | Ferenc Bene, Dezso Novak, Chus Pereda | Hungary, Hungary, Spain | 2 |
| 1968 | Dragan Dzajic | Yugoslavia | 2 |
| 1972 | Gerd Muller | West Germany | 4 |
| 1976 | Dieter Muller | West Germany | 4 |
| 1980 | Klaus Allofs | West Germany | 3 |
| 1984 | Michel Platini | France | 9 |
| 1988 | Marco van Basten | Netherlands | 5 |
| 1992 | Dennis Bergkamp, Tomas Brolin, Henrik Larsen, Karl-Heinz Riedle | Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Germany | 3 |
| 1996 | Alan Shearer | England | 5 |
| 2000 | Patrick Kluivert, Savo Milosevic | Netherlands, Yugoslavia | 5 |
| 2004 | Milan Baros | Czech Republic | 5 |
| 2008 | David Villa | Spain | 4 |
| 2012 | Fernando Torres | Spain | 3 |
| 2016 | Antoine Griezmann | France | 6 |
| 2020-21 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal | 5 |
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Which Golden Boot winner scored the most goals in a single edition of Euro?
France icon Michel Platini, who led his team to triumph as hosts of the 1984 tournament, scored the most goals, nine. The record still remains to this day. Antoine Griezmann, winner of the Golden Boot in 2016, came close to breaking the record with six goals .
Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo won the Euro 2020 Golden Boot after scoring five goals during the tournament. Both Ronaldo and Czech Republic forward Patrik Schick had five goals in the competition, but the 36-year-old Juventus star triumphed on the basis of assists.
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