Lionel Messi was quick to recognise the contribution of his Barcelona teammates after picking up a record sixth Golden Shoe award on Wednesday afternoon.
The 32-year-old Argentina striker received the accolade, given for scoring the most goals in a major European league, accompanied by his family at a ceremony at the Antiga Fabrica Estrella Damm.
"Without my teammates I wouldn't have scored any goals," said Messi, who won the prize for the third straight year thanks to his 36 goals from 34 games last term. "This is for everyone, it's a recognition for the whole team."
The #GoldenShoe record is His. 🐐pic.twitter.com/8XfO99NbOy — FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) October 16, 2019
Messi netted 51 goals in all competitions for the Catalan giants in 2018-19, passing the half-century mark for the sixth time in his career. Along with 36 in the league, he notched 12 in the Champions League and three in the Copa del Rey.
Barcelona sit second in LaLiga, two points behind Real Madrid, on the back of a 4-0 victory over Sevilla just before the international break, and have a trip to Eibar on the horizon on Saturday before a midweek Champions League trip to Slavia Prague.
Quoted on his club's website, Messi continued: "The Champions League is special and every year we want to win it, but the league is the most important. The cup too, Barca always compete for everything."
👑 La colección del REY DEL GOL 👑 👟🥇 2009-10 👟🥇 2011-12 👟🥇 2012-13 👟🥇 2016-17 👟🥇 2017-18👟🥇 2018-19 Nadie había ganado cinco veces este trofeo hasta que llegó él... ¡Pero Messi ya tiene su sexta Bota de Oro! 🔝⚽ pic.twitter.com/4cPcm8pYlv — LaLiga (@LaLiga) October 16, 2019
Meanwhile, according to reports in Spain, LaLiga has asked Barcelona and Real Madrid to switch El Clasico, scheduled for October 26, from the Nou Camp to the Bernabeu.
The apparent request comes after days of protest in Catalonia amid security concerns which were raised with an large demonstration planned for the same date as the fixture, according to AS.
