In the Premier League, winning the Golden Boot is a remarkable personal achievement. But while the striker celebrates individual brilliance, team success doesn’t always follow.
In fact, some of the greatest goalscoring campaigns in Premier League history ended without a title for the player’s club.
Top 10 Premier League Golden Boot winners who missed out on the title
1. Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur)
2. Thierry Henry (Arsenal)
3. Alan Shearer (Newcastle United)
4. Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
5. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Arsenal)
6. Sadio Mané (Liverpool)
7. Robin van Persie (Arsenal)
8. Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink (Chelsea)
9. Didier Drogba (Chelsea)
10. Andy Cole (Newcastle United)
Premier League’s Top Scorers Who Didn’t Win the Title: 10 Iconic Golden Boot Seasons Without Glory
Here’s a closer look at 10 players who won the Premier League Golden Boot — but watched someone else lift the trophy.
One of the most well-known examples is Harry Kane, who has finished as the league’s top scorer on three separate occasions, none of which resulted in silverware for Tottenham Hotspur. In the 2015/16 season, Kane scored 25 goals as Spurs chased Leicester City, only to fall short and finish third. The following year, he was even more lethal with 29 goals, but Chelsea claimed the title. In 2020/21, Kane’s 23-goal tally again led the league, but Tottenham ended up seventh while Manchester City ran away with the crown.
Thierry Henry also features prominently on this list. Widely regarded as one of the Premier League’s greatest ever players, the French forward won the Golden Boot four times — but only two of those came in title-winning campaigns for Arsenal. In both the 2004/05 and 2005/06 seasons, Henry finished as the top scorer, with 25 and 27 goals respectively. However, Arsenal finished behind Jose Mourinho’s dominant Chelsea side in both years.
Another Premier League legend, Alan Shearer, experienced similar frustration after leaving title-winning Blackburn Rovers for boyhood club Newcastle United. While Shearer was unstoppable in front of goal, scoring 31 goals in 1995/96 and 25 the following year, Newcastle fell short of the top spot both times, finishing second and second again behind Manchester United.
Mohamed Salah has also topped the scoring charts multiple times during seasons in which Liverpool narrowly missed out on the title. In 2017/18, Salah scored a record-breaking 32 goals in a 38-game season, but Manchester City lifted the title with a record 100 points. In 2018/19, Salah shared the award with 22 goals as Liverpool again finished second — by just a single point. Most recently, in 2021/22, he shared the Golden Boot for a third time, with Liverpool once again pipped to the post by City.
The 2018/19 season was especially notable for its three-way Golden Boot tie. Alongside Salah, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Sadio Mané also scored 22 goals each. Despite their efforts, neither Arsenal nor Liverpool lifted the trophy. Arsenal ended the season in fifth place, while Liverpool narrowly missed out in one of the tightest title races in history.
Robin van Persie had a spectacular individual season in 2011/12 with Arsenal, scoring 30 goals. Yet, it was Manchester City who famously clinched the title on goal difference in the final seconds of the campaign. Van Persie’s performances earned him a move to Manchester United the following summer, where he finally got his hands on the trophy.
Going further back, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink won the Golden Boot in the 2000/01 season with 23 goals for Chelsea. Despite his form, Chelsea only managed a sixth-place finish, as Manchester United topped the table. Similarly, Didier Drogba found himself in a similar situation in 2006/07. His 20 goals were enough for the Golden Boot, but Chelsea finished runners-up behind United.
Lastly, Andy Cole exploded onto the Premier League scene with Newcastle United in the 1993/94 season, scoring 34 goals in his debut top-flight campaign. Newcastle had just been promoted, and despite Cole’s heroics, they could only manage a third-place finish. Manchester United once again emerged as champions.
These players are proof that goals alone don’t win titles. The Premier League is a collective battle, and while strikers can lead the charge, it often takes more than goals to go all the way.
