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The competition for the European Golden Shoe is heating up as the current season approaches its mid-season juncture.

With a new winner in each of the past three campaigns, the honor remains up for grabs. Manchester City star Erling Haaland was the last Premier League-based striker to secure the award back in the 2022-23 season.

The prolific Norwegian goal-scorer is once again in the hunt this term, but faces tough rivalry from Bayern Munich marksman Harry Kane and Spanish La Liga phenomenon Kylian Mbappe. With plenty of fixtures remaining, other talents still have an opportunity to throw their hat into the contest.

What is the European Golden Shoe Award?

The Golden Boot award was inaugurated in the 1967-68 by the France-based newspaper L'Equipe to recognize the top scorer in league matches from a European top-flight league.

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

Goals scored in the continent's five major leagues—the English Premier League, Spanish La Liga, German 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 one and a half points. Goals in lower-ranked European leagues are worth one point.

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

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

Who are the Main Contenders?

Currently, a three-horse battle is underway for the 2025-26 Golden Shoe, with the three previous winners separated by just a single 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 one back on 18 goals (36 points) in 18 La Liga games.

In fourth place is Darko Lemajic of Latvian 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 term.

The rest of the top 10 is made up of players from leagues that operate on a January-to-December schedule.

A Look at Previous Recipients

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

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

Argentine maestro Lionel Messi has won the most Golden Shoes, claiming the award on six times during his long spell at FC Barcelona.

Messi established the benchmark for highest tally in a campaign with 50 in 2011-12 (100 points). He also became the first and only player to date to win it in three successive seasons from 2016-17 to 2018-19.

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

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

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

Kylian Mbappe is the current winner of the award after scoring 31 goals (62 points) for Real Madrid in 2024-25.

Now, the same trio are battling at the summit of the standings once more this campaign, with Kane currently out in front the way.