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

With a new winner in each of the previous three campaigns, the prize remains highly contested. Manchester City star Erling Haaland was the last Premier League-based forward to win the award back in 2022-23.

The prodigious Norwegian striker is back in the running this season, but encounters tough competition from German Bundesliga forward Harry Kane and Real Madrid phenomenon Kylian Mbappe. With many matches left to play, other players still have time to throw their hat into the contest.

What is the Golden Shoe?

The European Golden Shoe was first launched in the 1967-68 season by the French newspaper L'Equipe to honor 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 introduced a weighted scoring system. Under this format, a player's tallies are weighted with a designated multiplier based on the strength ranking of their domestic competition.

Goals scored in Europe's top five leagues—the Premier League, Spanish La Liga, German Bundesliga, Serie A, and French Ligue 1—are worth two points each.

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

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

If the deadlock persists, the subsequent deciding factor is the total of assists, followed by the least goals from the penalty spot. Only if these criteria are used would the award be shared.

Identifying the Main Challengers?

As it stands, a three-horse battle is underway for the 2025-26 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 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 matches.

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

Dutch side Feyenoord striker Ayase Ueda is tied for 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 operate on a January-to-December schedule.

A Look at Previous Recipients

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

Portuguese legend Eusebio claimed 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.

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

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

Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo claimed his first award in the 2007-08 with Man Utd 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 32 goals for Liverpool FC.

The award has seen a new winner in every one of the past three seasons.

Erling Haaland won the award for the first time in 2022-23, scoring a Premier League record thirty-six goals (72 points). Harry Kane earned his first Golden Shoe with the identical goal tally for Bayern Munich the following season.

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

Now, the same three players are competing at the summit of the standings again this season, with Kane currently out in front the way.