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The contest for the prestigious Golden Shoe is intensifying as the 2025-26 season approaches its midway point.

With a new winner in each of the last three campaigns, the honor remains wide open. Manchester City star Erling Haaland was the most recent Premier League-based striker to secure the award back in 2022-23.

The prolific Norwegian striker is back in the running this season, but faces stiff rivalry from Bayern Munich marksman Harry Kane and Spanish La Liga superstar Kylian Mbappe. With plenty of games left to play, other players still have an opportunity to throw their hat into the fray.

Understanding the European Golden Shoe Award?

The Golden Boot award was inaugurated in the 1967-68 by the France-based publication L'Equipe to honor the top scorer in domestic league matches from a European top division league.

Since the 1997-98, the prize has been overseen by European Sports Media, which introduced a weighted scoring system. Under this method, a player's tallies are multiplied by a designated multiplier based on the strength ranking of their domestic competition.

Goals scored in the continent's five major leagues—the English Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, Serie A, and French Ligue 1—are worth two points each.

For leagues ranked sixth to 22nd in UEFA list, such as the Portuguese league, goals are worth 1.5 points. Goals in all other European leagues carry one point.

While the award has been shared on multiple instances in the past, a rule change from the 2019-20 season dictates that in the case of a points tie, the trophy goes to the player with the least minutes played.

If the tie remains, the next tiebreaker is the number of assists, followed by the least goals from the penalty spot. Only after these criteria are used would the award be split.

Who are the Main Contenders?

At present, a three-horse race exists for the current season's Golden Shoe, with the three most recent winners separated by just a single goal.

• Harry Kane (English captain) leads with 19 goals (38 points) from 15 Bundesliga fixtures.
• Erling Haaland also has 19 goals (38 points) from 17 Premier League appearances.
• Kylian Mbappe sits just behind on 18 goals (36 points) in 18 La Liga matches.

In fourth is Darko Lemajic of Latvian club RFS, who has scored 28 goals (28 points) across their 36 league games in 2025.

Dutch side Feyenoord striker Ayase Ueda is tied for fifth with 18 goals (27 points) from 17 Eredivisie fixtures this term.

The remainder of the current top ten is made up of players from leagues that operate on a calendar year schedule.

Reviewing Past Winners

Throughout its nearly six-decade history, the Golden Shoe has been won by some of football's biggest legends.

Portuguese icon Eusébio claimed the first-ever trophy in 1968, scoring forty-two goals for Benfica. He then won the award for a second time in the 1972-73 season.

Argentine legend Lionel Messi has won the record number of Golden Shoes, collecting the award on six occasions during his long tenure at Barcelona.

Messi set the record for most goals in a single season with fifty in 2011-12 (100 points). He also became the only player to ever to win it in three consecutive seasons from 2016 to 2019.

Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo first won award in the 2007-08 season with Man Utd before going on to win it on three further occasions with Real Madrid.

The first player to win the award while at an club in England was Ian Rush in 1983-84, when he netted thirty-two goals for Liverpool FC.

The prize has seen a different winner in each of the past three seasons.

Erling Haaland claimed the award for the first time in 2022-23, scoring a Premier League record thirty-six goals (72 points). Harry Kane earned his maiden Golden Shoe with the same goal tally for Bayern Munich the next season.

Kylian Mbappe is the current holder of the award after scoring thirty-one goals (62 points) for Real Madrid in 2024-25.

Now, the very trio are vying at the top of the standings again this campaign, with Kane currently leading the way.