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The competition for the Golden Boot trophy is heating up as the 2025-26 season approaches its midway point.

With a different winner in every one of the last 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 prodigious Norwegian striker is back in the running this season, but encounters formidable competition from Bayern Munich marksman Harry Kane and Real Madrid phenomenon Kylian Mbappe. With many games left to play, other players still have an opportunity to enter the contest.

What is the European Golden Shoe Award?

The European Golden Shoe was introduced in the 1967-68 by the French publication L'Equipe to celebrate the top scorer in league matches from a European top division league.

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

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

For competitions 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 honor has been shared on multiple occasions in the past, a regulation update from the 2019-20 dictates that in the event of a tie, the trophy goes to the player with the least minutes played.

If the tie remains, the subsequent deciding factor is the total of assists, followed by the fewest goals from the penalty spot. Only after these criteria are exhausted would the award be split.

Identifying the Leading Contenders?

As it stands, a three-horse tussle is underway for the 2025-26 Golden Shoe, with the three most recent winners split by just a single goal.

• Harry Kane (English captain) leads with 19 goals (38 points) from 15 Bundesliga matches.
• 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 their 36 league games in 2025.

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

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

Reviewing Past Recipients

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

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

Argentine legend Lionel Messi has secured the most Golden Shoes, claiming the honor on six occasions during his 17-year tenure at FC Barcelona.

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

Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo first won award in the 2007-08 season with Manchester United before proceeding to win it on three further occasions with Real Madrid.

The first 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.

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

Erling Haaland claimed the award for the first time in 2022-23, scoring a Premier League record-equaling thirty-six goals (72 points). Harry Kane secured his first Golden Shoe with the identical total for Bayern Munich the following year.

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

Now, the same three players are vying at the summit of the leaderboard again this season, with Kane currently leading the way.