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The battle for the prestigious Golden Shoe is reaching a fever pitch as the 2025-26 season approaches its mid-season juncture.

With a different winner in every one of the last three campaigns, the prize remains wide open. Manchester City star Erling Haaland was the most recent Premier League-based player to secure the award back in 2022-23.

The prodigious Norwegian striker is back in the running this season, but encounters stiff competition from German Bundesliga marksman Harry Kane and Real Madrid phenomenon Kylian Mbappe. With many fixtures remaining, other players still have an opportunity to throw their hat into the contest.

What is the European Golden Shoe Award?

The European Golden Shoe was introduced in the 1967-68 season by the France-based newspaper L'Equipe to honor the highest scorer in domestic league matches from a European top-flight league.

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

Goals scored in Europe's top five leagues—the English Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, Italian Serie A, and Ligue 1—are worth two points apiece.

For leagues ranked sixth to 22nd in UEFA's rankings, such as the Portuguese Primeira Liga, goals are worth 1.5 points. Goals in all other European leagues are worth one point.

While the honor has been shared on several instances in the past, a rule change from the 2019-20 season states that in the event of a points tie, the trophy goes to the player with the least minutes played.

If the tie persists, the next deciding factor is the total of assists, followed by the least goals from the penalty spot. Only if these criteria are exhausted would the prize be shared.

Identifying the Primary Challengers?

At present, a three-horse race exists for the current season's Golden Shoe, with the trio of previous winners separated by just a solitary goal.

• Harry Kane (England captain) leads with 19 goals (38 points) from 15 Bundesliga matches.
• 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 games.

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

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

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

A Look at Previous Recipients

Throughout its 59-year history, the Golden Shoe has been claimed by some of football's biggest names.

Portuguese legend Eusébio won the inaugural trophy in 1968, scoring 42 goals for SL Benfica. He later secured the award for a second time in the 1972-73.

Argentine legend Lionel Messi has won the record number of Golden Shoes, claiming the award on six separate occasions during his 17-year spell at Barcelona.

Messi set the benchmark for highest tally in a campaign with fifty in 2011-12 (100 points). He also became the only player to date to win it in three successive seasons from 2016-17 to 2018-19.

Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo first won award in the 2007-08 with Manchester United before proceeding to win it on three further occasions with Real Madrid.

The inaugural player to win the award while at an English club was Liverpool's Ian Rush in 1983-84, when he netted 32 goals for Liverpool.

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

Erling Haaland won the prize for the first time in 2022-23, scoring a Premier League record thirty-six goals (72 points). Harry Kane earned his first Golden Shoe with the same total for Bayern Munich the following season.

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

Now, the same three players are competing at the summit of the standings again this campaign, with Kane currently leading the way.