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The contest for the prestigious Golden Shoe is reaching a fever pitch as the current season passes its mid-season juncture.

With a new winner in every one of the last three campaigns, the honor remains up for grabs. Manchester City star Erling Haaland was the most recent Premier League-based striker to win the trophy back in 2022-23.

The prodigious Norwegian goal-scorer is back in the hunt this term, but faces formidable competition from German Bundesliga forward Harry Kane and Spanish La Liga superstar Kylian Mbappe. With plenty of matches left to play, other talents still have time to throw their hat into the contest.

Understanding the European Golden Shoe Award?

The European Golden Shoe was first launched in the 1967-68 by the French newspaper L'Equipe to recognize the top goalscorer in league matches from a European top division league.

Since the 1997-98 season, the award 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 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, Italian 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 one and a half points. Goals in all other European leagues are worth one point.

While the award has been shared on several occasions in the past, a regulation update from the 2019-20 season dictates that in the case of a points tie, the award goes to the player with the least minutes played.

If the deadlock remains, the subsequent deciding factor is the total of league assists, followed by the fewest penalties scored. Only after these criteria are used would the award be shared.

Identifying the Leading Contenders?

At present, a three-way battle 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 matches.

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

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

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

A Look at Previous Winners

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

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

Argentine maestro Lionel Messi has won the most Golden Shoes, collecting the award on six separate occasions during his long tenure at Barcelona.

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

Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo first won award in the 2007-08 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 Ian Rush in 1983-84, when he netted 32 goals for Liverpool.

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

Erling Haaland scooped the prize 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 reigning holder of the award after scoring thirty-one goals (62 points) for Real Madrid in 2024-25.

Now, the very trio are competing at the top of the standings once more this season, with Kane presently out in front the pack.