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The battle for the prestigious Golden Shoe is heating up as the current season nears its halfway mark.

With a new winner in every one of the previous three campaigns, the honor remains up for grabs. Premier League star Erling Haaland was the last Premier League-based forward to claim the trophy back in the 2022-23 season.

The prodigious Norwegian striker is once again in the mix this term, but faces tough rivalry from Bayern Munich marksman Harry Kane and Spanish La Liga superstar Kylian Mbappe. With plenty of matches left to play, 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 first launched in the 1967-68 season by the French publication L'Equipe to honor the highest goalscorer in league matches from a European top-flight league.

Since the 1997-98, the prize has been administered by European Sports Media, which implemented a points-based scoring system. Under this method, a player's tallies are weighted with a specific coefficient based on the strength ranking of their domestic competition.

Goals scored in the continent's top five leagues—the Premier League, Spanish La Liga, Bundesliga, Serie A, and French Ligue 1—are valued at two points apiece.

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

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

If the deadlock remains, the next tiebreaker is the number of league assists, followed by the least goals from the penalty spot. Only if these criteria are exhausted would the prize be split.

Who are the Leading Contenders?

Currently, a three-way race exists for the 2025-26 Golden Shoe, with the three most recent winners split by just a solitary goal.

• Harry Kane (England captain) leads with 19 goals (38 points) from 15 Bundesliga games.
• 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 Darko Lemajic of Latvia's club RFS, who has netted 28 goals (28 points) across their 36 league games in 2025.

Dutch side Feyenoord striker Ayase Ueda is joint-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 function on a calendar year schedule.

A Look at Previous Recipients

Throughout its nearly six-decade history, the Golden Shoe has been claimed by some of football's most iconic names.

Portuguese legend Eusebio claimed the first-ever trophy in 1968, scoring forty-two goals for Benfica. He later secured the award for a second time in the 1972-73.

Argentine maestro Lionel Messi has won the record number of Golden Shoes, collecting the award on six separate times during his long spell at FC Barcelona.

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

Portuguese megastar Cristiano Ronaldo claimed his first award in the 2007-08 with Manchester United before proceeding to win it three more times with Real Madrid.

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

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

Erling Haaland scooped the award for the first time in 2022-23, scoring a Premier League record 36 goals (72 points). Harry Kane secured his maiden Golden Shoe with the same total for Bayern Munich the following year.

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 trio are battling at the top of the leaderboard again this campaign, with Kane presently leading the pack.