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The battle for the prestigious Golden Shoe is reaching a fever pitch as the 2025-26 season nears its midway point.

With a new winner in each of the past three campaigns, the award remains wide open. Manchester City star Erling Haaland was the last Premier League-based forward to win the award back in the 2022-23 season.

The prolific Norwegian striker is once again in the mix this season, but encounters formidable rivalry from Bayern Munich marksman Harry Kane and Spanish La Liga phenomenon Kylian Mbappe. With plenty of games left to play, other players still have time to enter the fray.

Understanding the European Golden Shoe Award?

The European Golden Shoe was introduced in the 1967-68 by the France-based publication L'Equipe to recognize the leading scorer in domestic league matches from a European top division league.

Since the 1997-98, the prize has been administered by European Sports Media, which introduced a points-based scoring system. Under this format, a player's goals are multiplied by a designated multiplier based on the strength ranking of their league.

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 rankings, such as the Portuguese league, goals are worth one and a half points. Goals in all other European leagues carry one point.

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

If the tie remains, the subsequent tiebreaker is the number of league assists, followed by the fewest penalties scored. Only after these tiebreakers are used would the prize be split.

Who are the Primary Contenders?

At present, a three-horse battle exists for the current season's Golden Shoe, with the trio of most recent 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 one back on 18 goals (36 points) in 18 La Liga matches.

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

Feyenoord striker Ayase Ueda is tied for fifth with 18 goals (27 points) from 17 Eredivisie matches this season.

The remainder of the current top ten is made up of players from leagues that operate on a January-to-December schedule.

A Look at Past Recipients

Throughout its 59-year history, the Golden Shoe has been awarded to some of football's biggest stars.

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

Argentine maestro Lionel Messi has secured the most Golden Shoes, collecting the honor on six occasions during his long tenure at FC Barcelona.

Messi set the record for highest tally in a single season with 50 in 2011-12 (100 points). He also became the only player to date to win it in three successive seasons from 2016 to 2019.

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

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

The award has seen a different winner in every one of the last three seasons.

Erling Haaland won the award for the first time in 2022-23, scoring a Premier League record-equaling thirty-six goals (72 points). Harry Kane earned his maiden Golden Shoe with the identical 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 very trio are battling at the summit of the standings once more this season, with Kane presently out in front the way.