Haaland, Lewandowski, Mbappe: Race for Europe's Golden Shoe - in pictures

As the latest international break makes way for the return of club football, focus turns back to domestic and continental competitions.

Heading the list to become the 2021/22 Golden Shoe winner as the continent's top scorer are some of the greatest strikers in world football – from Kylian Mbappe and Karim Benzema, to Mohamed Salah and Robert Lewandowski.

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It was Bayern Munich's Lewandowski who took the honours last season, ahead of two names who have won the award a remarkable 10 times between them: Lionel Messi (six) and Cristiano Ronaldo (four), who were plying their trade at Barcelona and Juventus, respectively.

Those two have since switched clubs – to Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester United respectively – and have not made it on to the list, so far, this time round.

“I'm still here, and I will be here for a long time,” said Lewandowski at last season's ceremony held at Bayern's Allianz Arena.

“Age is just a number, I feel very good, my form indicators have never been so good. I know that with my body I can still play for years at the highest level. I hope to become even better.”

Since the 1996-97 season, European Sports Media have used a points system to decide who wins the award based around the Uefa coefficient ranking of the league in which each player plays. This means that goals scored in a higher-ranked league will count more than weaker ones.

You can see the current top 25 European hotshots – from the big five of La Liga, Serie A, the Premier League, Bundesliga and Ligue 1 – in the gallery above. To move on to the next photo, click on the arrows or if using a mobile device, simply swipe.

What is graphene?

Graphene is a single layer of carbon atoms arranged like honeycomb.

It was discovered in 2004, when Russian-born Manchester scientists Andrei Geim and Kostya Novoselov were "playing about" with sticky tape and graphite - the material used as "lead" in pencils.

Placing the tape on the graphite and peeling it, they managed to rip off thin flakes of carbon. In the beginning they got flakes consisting of many layers of graphene. But as they repeated the process many times, the flakes got thinner.

By separating the graphite fragments repeatedly, they managed to create flakes that were just one atom thick. Their experiment had led to graphene being isolated for the very first time.

At the time, many believed it was impossible for such thin crystalline materials to be stable. But examined under a microscope, the material remained stable, and when tested was found to have incredible properties.

It is many times times stronger than steel, yet incredibly lightweight and flexible. It is electrically and thermally conductive but also transparent. The world's first 2D material, it is one million times thinner than the diameter of a single human hair.

But the 'sticky tape' method would not work on an industrial scale. Since then, scientists have been working on manufacturing graphene, to make use of its incredible properties.

In 2010, Geim and Novoselov were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics. Their discovery meant physicists could study a new class of two-dimensional materials with unique properties.

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Types of policy

Term life insurance: this is the cheapest and most-popular form of life cover. You pay a regular monthly premium for a pre-agreed period, typically anything between five and 25 years, or possibly longer. If you die within that time, the policy will pay a cash lump sum, which is typically tax-free even outside the UAE. If you die after the policy ends, you do not get anything in return. There is no cash-in value at any time. Once you stop paying premiums, cover stops.

Whole-of-life insurance: as its name suggests, this type of life cover is designed to run for the rest of your life. You pay regular monthly premiums and in return, get a guaranteed cash lump sum whenever you die. As a result, premiums are typically much higher than one term life insurance, although they do not usually increase with age. In some cases, you have to keep up premiums for as long as you live, although there may be a cut-off period, say, at age 80 but it can go as high as 95. There are penalties if you don’t last the course and you may get a lot less than you paid in.

Critical illness cover: this pays a cash lump sum if you suffer from a serious illness such as cancer, heart disease or stroke. Some policies cover as many as 50 different illnesses, although cancer triggers by far the most claims. The payout is designed to cover major financial responsibilities such as a mortgage or children’s education fees if you fall ill and are unable to work. It is cost effective to combine it with life insurance, with the policy paying out once if you either die or suffer a serious illness.

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Anna and the Apocalypse

Director: John McPhail

Starring: Ella Hunt, Malcolm Cumming, Mark Benton

Three stars

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