The Portugal international has gone top following his wonder strike against Valencia, while Lionel Messi has moved onto the podium

Real Madrid attacker Cristiano Ronaldo has leapfrogged Liverpool star Luis Suarez at the top of the rankings for the European Golden Shoe thanks to his goal in the 2-2 draw with Valencia on Sunday.

The Portuguese forward has now netted an impressive 31 goals in La Liga this term and holds a one-goal lead over his Uruguayan rival, whose club Liverpool meet Crystal Palace on Monday evening.

Lionel Messi netted once in Barcelona’s 2-2 draw versus Getafe on Saturday and has now moved into third position ahead of Atletico Madrid hitman Diego Costa, who didn’t add to his tally against Levante.

Salzburg duo Jonatan Soriano and Alan both scored once in their side’s 4-0 win over Ried, with the former occupying fifth place and the latter sitting ninth.

Heerenveen striker Alfred Finnbogason was crowned Eredivisie top scorer at the weekend after scoring one goal in the Friezen’s 3-0 win over RKC.

History & How It Works

Players such as Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Thierry Henry and Diego Forlan have won the European Golden Shoe in the past few seasons, with the Argentina international as the latest winner of the award following his 46 goals in 2012-13.

Other noteworthy winners include the likes of Francesco Totti, Luca Toni, Ronaldo, Marco van Basten, Eusebio and Gerd Muller.

The weightings are determined by the league’s ranking on the Uefa coefficients, which in turn depend on the results of each league’s clubs in European competition over the previous five seasons. Goals scored in the top five leagues according to the Uefa coefficients are multiplied by a factor of two, and goals scored in the leagues ranked six to 21 are multiplied by 1.5. Goals in all other leagues are worth one single point.

This measure has prevented players from so-called weaker leagues from winning the European Golden Shoe, since a goal scored in, for example, Armenia, Estonia or Azerbaijan, carries less weight than a goal scored in Serie A, La Liga, the Bundesliga or the Premier League.

The Liverpool star adds the award to the Professional Footballers’ Association’s trophy he won eight days ago, beating second- and third-placed Steven Gerrard and Yaya Toure

Liverpool star Luis Suarez has won the Football Writers’ Player of the Year award, adding the prize to the Professional Footballers’ Association’s trophy he picked eight days ago.

The striker topped the poll with 52 per cent of the vote, with team-mate Steven Gerrard and Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure finishing second and third, respectively.

Suarez has netted 30 league goals this season to lead the division’s scoring charts, two off Alan Shearer and Cristiano Ronaldo’s 32-goal hauls in a 38-game season, despite missing the six matches due to suspension.

FWA chairman Andy Dunn said: “Those members who have been fortunate enough to be working at a match involving Luis Suarez have witnessed an astonishing talent first-hand.

“Tireless endeavour allied to extraordinary imagination makes an irresistible combination. Add ingenious, impudent finishing and you have a footballer who truly quickens the pulse.”

“Luis is a remarkable gifted addition to the long and distinguished list of winners of our award.”

The double award-winnning campaign marks a dramatic turnaround for the Uruguayan, who began the campaign by serving the remainder of a 10-game suspension for biting Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic.

Earlier last season the striker was also involved in a race row involving Manchester United’s Patrice Evra that also produced another lengthy ban.

Suarez can add to his goal return when Liverpool face Crystal Palace on Monday evening, with the club still in contention for a first ever Premier League title.

COMMENT: The Merseysiders’ star man has been in sensational form this season but he should leave Anfield if he gets the chance to the Liga giants this summer

Luis Suarez faces Crystal Palace tonight needing two more goals in Liverpool’s remaining two fixtures to break the Premier League scoring record over a 38-game season.

It would be the perfect way for the Uruguayan to finish a sensational individual campaign before moving on to bigger and better things.

Suarez has been the outstanding player in the division this season with a stunning record of 30 goals in 31 league matches, a strike rate that propelled Liverpool up the table into an unlikely title race.

The Reds can still win their first championship in 24 years if Manchester City slip up – but whatever happens, Suarez should be seriously considering a summer move to Real Madrid.

The noises are already growing in football circles that the elusive attacker is this year’s chosen Galactico of Madrid president Florentino Perez after the Spanish side spent a world record €100 million on Gareth Bale last summer.

Bale joined Madrid as the best player in England having won the PFA and FWA player of the year awards. Suarez will find himself in the same situation this summer.

The 27-year-old will find he has plenty of reasons to stay at Liverpool. He signed a four-and-half-year contract in December worth €240,000 a week as a reward for his outstanding form; he has improved dramatically under the guidance of Brendan Rodgers; Liverpool are one of the most famous clubs on the planet and will be back where they belong in the Champions League next season.

But they are not Real Madrid.

Suarez claims he is “very happy” and “nothing is going to happen” in the summer, but the chance to move to the Spanish capital is one that few players are able to turn down.

Cristiano Ronaldo pushed through the move in 2009, Bale did the same in 2013. It was an opportunity, they were warned, that might not come again.

One win away from that holy grail of a 10th European title, Madrid have built a team in no small part based on targeting the best Premier League talent. Ronaldo, Bale, Luka Modric and Xabi Alonso all arrived from England.

If Suarez wants to truly be considered one of the very best on the planet, perhaps even one of the greatest of all time, he must follow the same path. He has conquered the Premier League, now it is time for a new challenge.

At Real Madrid, alongside Bale and Ronaldo, he could have a genuine chance of one day winning the Ballon d’Or.

He will be able to play in a Spanish-speaking environment and escape from the English media, who he has often sought to blame for his own significant transgressions, not least the Patrice Evra racism incident and his decision to try and bite a chunk out of Branislav Ivanovic.

Liverpool have been wonderful to watch this season, but in reality this has been their chance to win the league. It will only get harder next season as rivals improve and Rodgers attempts to balance domestic goals with winning in Europe.

Last year, when Arsenal tried to sign Suarez for €50m, Liverpool admirably held firm. When Suarez tried to force the transfer and gave newspaper interviews stating his desire to leave, they told him to shut up.

But if Suarez was willing to kick up such a fuss to move to Arsenal, how far will he be willing to go to sign for Real Madrid?

For Liverpool’s owners, FSG, a bid worth more than €73m from a foreign club – not a direct rival -would be hard to resist. Indeed, it would be ‘moneyball’ in action. They found a player undervalued by the market at around €28m and they are now looking at making the best part of a €50m profit.

Suarez is an exceptional talent and one of the best the Premier League has ever seen – right up there with the likes of Thierry Henry and Cristiano Ronaldo.

His record this season, statistically at least, shows he is not far off the Portuguese superstar and Lionel Messi.

He deserves the chance to play alongside Ronaldo next season and establish himself as a true great of the game.