Top 10 Players To Have Never Won A Golden Boot

jonjoward1998
May 13, 2025
7 min read

The golden boot is the award that every striker wants to win at the start of the season and especially the big name ones.

Whilst many of the top strikers in the Premier League have got their hands on a golden boot, there have also been a number of great strikers who haven't got their hands on one.

That could be down to maybe injuries at a crucial of the season, the fact that they were playing for a club who weren't challenging for anything, or they were not in the same bracket as the player who won the award.

Any striker who scored a lot of goals for their team didn't win a golden boot will still go down as a great striker because of the goals they scored for their team. They might not have got the accolades their exploits deserved, but they will still be remembered for the goals they scored.

All the players on the list were those kind of players in that they all scored a lot of goals, but didn't get the accolades their efforts deserved.

Now here is the list:

Wayne Rooney

Romelu Lukaku

Diego Costa

Les Ferdinand

Robbie Fowler

Gianfranco Zola

Robbie Keane

Jermain Defoe

Fernando Torres

Daniel Sturridge

Daniel Sturridge

Sturridge had to be in 10th because of the injuries he had throughout his career. But when he was fit he was as good as any striker in Europe.

He showed that during the 2013/14 season as he netted 21 times for Liverpool as they went very close to ending their long wait for a Premier League title.

He finished 2nd in the goal charts that season behind his strike partner Luis Suarez who was absolutely unplayable that season. The partnership those two had was incredible that season and it could've been one the greatest in Premier League history had they played together longer.

Had he not had his injury troubles, he might've got his hands on a golden boot because he definitely had the ability and talent to do so.

He was a striker who could score almost any kind of goal, was quick, agile, and someone who could play anywhere across the front line.

Robbie Keane

Keane was a clinical striker on his day and especially when he was at Spurs which was where he spent the best years of his career.

He was a striker who was quick, agile, and someone who could score any kind of goal.

But he never got close to winning a golden boot as Spurs were a mid-table club for the majority of his time there, and there were strikers who were on a different level to him at the time in Thierry Henry, Ruud Van Nistelrooy and Didier Drogba etc.

He hit double figures for goals in every season he spent at Spurs with his best season coming in 2005/06 where he scored 16 goals. But he was a long way off winning or being a serious contender for the golden boot that season as Henry and Van Nistelrooy were the two top strikers in the league at the time.

Had he played for Spurs when they were a side regularly pushing for the top four, he might've won or got closer to winning a golden boot.

Romelu Lukaku

Lukaku was as good as any striker in Europe on his day as he was big, strong, good in air, quick, and could score any kind of goal.

He went close to winning the golden boot in his final season at Everton in 2016/17 which was his best goal scoring season as he netted 25 times.

He was leading the charts for the majority of the second half of the season, only to be overtaken by Harry Kane right at the very end of the season.

If there is one reason why he didn't win the golden boot that season, it is because he didn't deliver enough in the big games and this was what held him back from reaching that world class level.

Had he had a better record against the so-called bigger teams, he might've won the golden boot that season and maybe even in the following seasons.

Jermain Defoe

Defoe is one of the greatest strikers to play in the Premier League having scored a total of 163 goals. But I do think he was a bit underrated as he didn't always get the credit he deserved.

He scored goals wherever he went with the majority of them coming from both his spells at Spurs, where he had the best years of his career.

He was a striker who was quick, agile, could run in behind, and could score goals from almost anywhere in the penalty area.

His best goal scoring season came in 2009/10 season where he scored 18 times as Spurs qualified for the Champions League for the first time in their history.

But he was nowhere near winning the golden boot that season as it was fought out between Wayne Rooney and Didier Drogba that season.

Had he maybe had the chance to play for a team who were fighting it out for the league title, he might've got his hands on a golden boot.

Gianfranco Zola

Zola was a delightful player to watch on his day at Chelsea as he could pretty much anything with the ball at his feet and score some wonderful goals.

He was a player who was quick, agile, and very skilful and the skills he performed on the pitch often got the fans off their seats.

He should probably be lower down as he wasn't an out and out goal scorer like the others on the list were. He only reached double figures twice in 1998/99 where he got 13, and 2002/03 where he scored 14.

But he still deserves to be in this position because of the delightful player he was on his day.

He was nowhere near winning the the golden boot during his time in the Premier League, but had he played for Chelsea after Roman Abramovich bought the club, he might've score more goals and got his hands on a golden boot.

Les Ferdinand

Ferdinand was an all round quality striker on his day in that he was quick and good in the air as well as a terrific goal scorer.

He almost won the golden boot in the first ever Premier League season in 1992/93 when he netted 20 times for QPR. But he was pipped to the award by Teddy Sheringham who got two more for Spurs.

His best two seasons came in 1994/95 with QPR where he scored 24 times, and in 1995/96 with Newcastle where he netted 25 times. But he finished 3rd in the charts on both occasions behind Alan Shearer and Robbie Fowler, the former of who won the award in both seasons.

Despite those seasons being his best in terms of goals, his best chance to win the award definitely came in the first Premier League season as that was the closest he ever got to winning it.

Fernando Torres

Torres may have flopped at Chelsea but at Liverpool, he was one of the best strikers in Europe as he had the pace to terrify defenders and could score almost any kind of goal.

His debut season at Anfield in 2007/08 was the closest he got to winning the golden boot as he finished joint second in the charts alongside Emmanuel Adebayor with 24 goals. Cristiano Ronaldo won the award that season with a staggering 31 goals.

Injuries hampered him over the next couple of seasons as he didn't get as many goals as he did in his first season. Had he not had those injuries and kept himself fit, he might've got his hands on a golden boot.

Diego Costa

Costa was like Marmite in that you either loved him or you hated him. But when he was focused on his football he was a real handful as he was big, strong, aggressive, and tough to play against.

His goals were instrumental in the Chelsea title winning sides he was part of in 2015 and 2017 respectively as he netted 20 times in both seasons.

But despite the goals he scored and the difference he made for the blues in both campaigns, he didn't get his hands on the golden boot even though he led the goal scoring charts for the majority of both seasons.

He lost out in 2015 as he missed a chunk of games towards the end of the season due to injury, whereas in 2017 the goals dried up in the second half of the season. Serio Aguero and Harry Kane won the prize in those respective seasons.

Between the two, 2015 was probably his best chance of winning the award as he was in better goal scoring form. I'm certain that he would've won the award had he not missed those games towards the end of the season due to injury.

Chelsea have struggled to replace him since he left as the no.9's they've had since have struggled to deliver.

Robbie Fowler

Fowler was a goal scoring machine when he was at Liverpool and especially during his early years. But despite the many goals he scored, he never got his hands on the golden boot.

He was twice a runner up to Alan Shearer in back to back seasons in 1994/95 and 1995/96, where he scored 25 and 28 goals in both respective seasons before finishing third on the charts the following season with 18, behind Ian Wright and Shearer.

The two seasons he finished runner up to Shearer were his best chances to win the award with the second season arguably being the better of the two as the number of goals he scored that season was closer to the number of goals Shearer got in 31.

He was absolutely adored by the Liverpool fans as they nicknamed him God, and he was a striker who was quick, agile, and could score a variety of goals.

Wayne Rooney

Rooney scored 208 goals in the Premier League and won 5 Premier League titles at Man United. But he somehow never got his hands on a golden boot.

His best chances to win the award came in 2010 and 2012 which were his best goal scoring seasons as he scored 26 and 27 goals in respective seasons.

2010 was arguably his best chance of winning it as he was top of the charts for pretty much the entire season, only for Didier Drogba to pip him to the award on the final day of the season.

Had he not picked up that injury against Bayern Munich in the Champions League, he might've won the award that season because he wasn't the same player when he came back.

He lost out of the award in 2012 to Robin Van Persie who was on fire for the entire season. He did start the season in fine goal scoring form, but his form later dried up and whilst he was in the middle of that dry match, Van Persie couldn't stop scoring and put himself miles ahead at the top of the charts.

I had to have him at no.1 because of brilliant and talented player he was, and the career he had in the game.

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