Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo may be making their final continental contributions in international tournaments this summer, and both are expected to be among the leading scorers in their potential farewells.
EURO 2024 was the first tournament to get underway this summer and it was quickly followed by the kick-off of Copa America. Messi and Ronaldo have both won one continental championship each and winning another in likely their final appearances this year would do wonders for the legacy of either.
It would be even more impressive on an individual level if they could run away as the leading goalscorers at EURO 2024 and Copa America respectively. Both are well in the running for the Golden Boot awards although their competition is strong.
Ronaldo will fight against the world's leading forwards
Portugal is one of the favorites to win Euro 2024 in the football betting markets at odds of +600. This means Ronaldo will have a strong chance of playing the maximum amount of fixtures at the tournament, which could translate to a huge amount of opportunities to find the net.
According to the EURO 24 odds the Al Nassr center-forward is expected to be Portugal's most impactful player in front of goal, offered at -138 to finish as their top scorer.
In terms of the overall competition, Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappe are the only players who are expected to compete with Ronaldo's level of goalscoring.
Kane and Mbappe are the standout forwards for England and France who are +350 joint-favorites to win the tournament. Like Ronaldo, they should guide their nation to the latter stages which should in turn put them in the Golden Boot race.
In the qualifying campaign for the Euros, Ronaldo led the way from the trio with 10 goals, with Mbappe on eight and Kane on nine. It would not be a surprise if those standings repeat themselves at EURO 2024, which means Ronaldo could bow out of European international competition in style.
It would be a shock if Messi does not win the Copa America award
Messi arguably has a much more straightforward path to winning a continental top scorer award this summer.
The Copa America tournament bracket features Argentina on a separate side of the draw to Brazil, Uruguay, and Colombia. This means Messi will have the advantage of avoiding the top defenses in the run-up to the final.
The structure of the tournament has not only made Argentina the favorites to retain their 2021 crown but it has made Messi a +300 favorite to win the Golden Boot.
Darwin Nunez is an example of one of Messi's likely rivals for the award, although it is unlikely he will manage to score as many goals as Argentina's attacking focal point considering the difference in quality they will likely face before the eventual final.
Ultimately, Ronaldo and Messi both have huge chances to secure prestigious individual awards at this year's tournaments. Messi particularly seems to have a clear-cut path to Copa America glory and a topscorer award to go alongside it.
Either of the era-defining players would polish their legacies tremendously with a Golden Boot award this summer, but Messi looks the most likely to get the job done.