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The battle for the Golden Boot trophy is intensifying as the 2025-26 season passes its mid-season juncture.

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

The prodigious Norwegian goal-scorer is once again in the mix this season, but faces stiff rivalry from Bayern Munich forward Harry Kane and Real Madrid phenomenon Kylian Mbappe. With many games remaining, other players still have an opportunity to throw their hat into the contest.

Understanding the European Golden Shoe Award?

The European Golden Shoe was first launched in the 1967-68 season by the French publication L'Equipe to celebrate the leading scorer in league matches from a European top-flight league.

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

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

For competitions ranked sixth to 22nd in UEFA rankings, such as the Portuguese Primeira Liga, goals are worth 1.5 points. Goals in lower-ranked European leagues are worth one point.

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

If the tie remains, the subsequent tiebreaker is the total of assists, followed by the fewest goals from the penalty spot. Only if these criteria are used would the prize be split.

Identifying the Main Contenders?

As it stands, a three-way battle is underway for the current season's Golden Shoe, with the three previous winners separated by just a single goal.

• Harry Kane (English captain) leads with 19 goals (38 points) from 15 Bundesliga games.
• Erling Haaland also has 19 goals (38 points) from 17 Premier League outings.
• Kylian Mbappe sits one back on 18 goals (36 points) in 18 La Liga games.

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

Dutch side Feyenoord striker Ayase Ueda is joint-fifth with 18 goals (27 points) from 17 Eredivisie matches this season.

The remainder of the top 10 is comprised of players from leagues that operate on a calendar year schedule.

Reviewing Past Recipients

Throughout its 59-year existence, the Golden Shoe has been won by some of football's most iconic stars.

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

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

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

Portuguese megastar Cristiano Ronaldo claimed his first 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 Ian Rush in 1983-84, when he netted 32 goals for Liverpool FC.

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

Erling Haaland claimed the prize for the first time in 2022-23, scoring a Premier League record-equaling 36 goals (72 points). Harry Kane earned his first Golden Shoe with the identical total for Bayern Munich the next year.

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

Now, the same three players are battling at the top of the leaderboard once more this season, with Kane currently out in front the pack.