Belgian Golden Shoe : Ex-Liverpool star Mignolet succeeds Onuachu, five Nigerians in top 30

Former Liverpool goalkeeper Simon Mignolet has won the prestigious Belgian Golden Shoe, awarded at the beginning of each year to the best footballer of the Belgian First Division A for the past year. 

Mignolet, who helped Club Brugge win the Jupiler Pro League in 2021-2022 and starred in the group stage of this season's UEFA Champions League, is the first goalkeeper to win the Golden Shoe since Michel Preud'homme in 1989.

The 34-year-old succeeds Paul Onuachu, who claimed the award for 2021, as the best footballer in the Belgian topflight.

The Racing Genk marksman finished seventh in the final standings with 106 points, 578 less than the runaway winner Mignolet.

Four other Nigeria-eligible players made the top 30, including Joshua Zirkzee (Anderlecht), Raphael Onyedika (Club Brugge), Alhassan Yusuf (Antwerp FC) and Victor Boniface (Royale Union Saint-Gilloise) .

Zirkzee was in 14th place with 12 points received, Onyedika and Yusuf were tied for 27th place with four points, while Boniface ranked 29th with three points. 

Onyedika, Yusuf and Boniface moved to Belgian Pro League from Scandinavian teams FC Midtjylland, IFK Göteborg and Bodø/Glimt respectively.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel 

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