Lionel Messi or Mohamed Salah: Will there be a European Golden Shoe winner for 2019/2020?

The race for the top scorer across Europe was brought to an abrupt halt. See who was leading the way

Neymar, Paris St Germain: 13 goals (26 points). Slide through the images to see who is leading the way. Reuters

Jadon Sancho, Borussia Dortmund: 14 goals (28 points). Reuters

Sadio Mane, Liverpool: 14 goals (28 points). Reuters

Marcus Rashford, Manchester United: (14 goals, 28 points). PA

Karim Benzema. Real Madrid: 14 goals (28 points). Reuters

Alexander Sorloth, Trabzonspor, Turkey: 19 goals (28.5 points). Getty Images

Danny Ings, Southampton: 15 goals (30 points). Reuters

Josip Ilicic, Atalanta: 15 goals (30 points). AFP

Erik Sorga, Flora in Estonia (now DC United in MLS): 31 goals (31 points). Scott Taetsch-USA TODAY Sports

Moussa Dembele, Lyon: 16 goals (32 points). AFP

Joao Pedro, Cagliari: 16 goals (32 points). Getty Images

Mohamed Salah, Liverpool: 16 goals (32 points). EPA

Sergio Aguero, Manchester City: 16 goals (32 points). Getty Images

Shon Weissman of Wolfsberger, Austria: 22 goals (33 points). Barcroft Media via Getty Images

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Arsenal: 17 goals (34 points) Action Images via Reuters

Romelu Lukaku, Inter Milan: 17 goals (34 points). AFP

Wissam Ben Yedder, Monaco: 18 goals (36 points). AFP

Kylian Mbappe, Paris Saint-Germain: 18 goals (36 points). Getty Images

Lionel Messi, Barcelona: 19 goals (38 points). AFP

Jamie Vardy, Leicester City: 19 goals (38 points). EPA

Erling Haaland, Borussia Dortmund: 9 goals for Dortmund, 16 for RB Salzburg in Austria (42 points). AP

Timo Werner, Leipzig: 21 goals (42 points). AFP

Cristiano Ronaldo, Juventus: 21 goals (42 points). EPA

Robert Lewandowski, Bayern Munich: 25 goals (50 points). AFP

Ciro Immobile, Lazio: 27 goals (54 points). Getty Images

The time when the likes of Lionel Messi, Mohamed Salah and the world's other great strikers scored goal after goal feels like a distant memory.

Amid the coronavirus pandemic, such sporting achievements have suddenly been watered down in terms of importance as nations go to extreme lengths to keep their citizens safe.

But history hasn't been wiped out, and, as it stands, the 2019/2020 season still exists - just in a state of limbo.

Whether end of season awards will be handed out is unclear at this stage, but up until matches across the likes of the Premier League, La Liga and Serie A were halted, the race for the annual Golden Shoe awarded to the top goalscorer in Europe was very much on.

See the list of list of leading contenders in the slideshow at the top.

How is the Golden Shoe winner worked out?

The players across the five top leagues in Europe - England, Spain, Italy, Germany and France - are awarded two points per league goal in the season.

Players in leagues ranked from six to 21 gain 1.5 points per goal, and leagues below that are worth one point per goal.

So, for example, Erling Haaland's goals at Austrian side RB Salzburg were worth 1.5 points per goal, and his goals following his move to Borussia Dortmund were were worth two points each.

Who has won the most Golden Shoes?

Little surprise there. Lionel Messi has claimed the award six times, including for the past three consecutive seasons. Messi's was looking unlikely to win the award this season, despite topping the La Liga goal charts.

Cristiano Ronaldo has also featured heavily, winning it four times.