🔗 Share this article

The contest for the prestigious Golden Shoe is reaching a fever pitch as the current season nears its midway point.

With a different winner in every one of the last three campaigns, the prize remains up for grabs. Premier League star Erling Haaland was the most recent Premier League-based forward to secure the trophy back in the 2022-23 season.

The prodigious Norwegian striker is once again in the mix this term, but faces formidable rivalry from German Bundesliga forward Harry Kane and Real Madrid superstar Kylian Mbappe. With many games left to play, other talents still have an opportunity to enter the fray.

What is the European Golden Shoe Award?

The Golden Boot award was introduced in the 1967-68 season by the France-based newspaper L'Equipe to honor the top goalscorer in league matches from a European top-flight league.

Since the 1997-98 season, the award has been overseen by European Sports Media, which implemented 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 five major leagues—the English Premier League, Spanish La Liga, 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 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 states that in the event of a points tie, the award goes to the player with the fewest minutes played.

If the tie persists, the subsequent deciding factor is the number of assists, followed by the least penalties scored. Only if these criteria are used would the award be split.

Who are the Main Contenders?

At present, a three-horse battle exists for the 2025-26 Golden Shoe, with the three previous winners split by just a solitary goal.

• Harry Kane (English captain) leads with 19 goals (38 points) from 15 Bundesliga fixtures.
• 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 Latvian side RFS, who has netted 28 goals (28 points) across the club's 36 league games in 2025.

Dutch side 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 made up of players from leagues that operate on a calendar year schedule.

Reviewing Past Recipients

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

Portuguese icon Eusébio won the first-ever trophy in 1968, scoring forty-two goals for SL Benfica. He then secured the award for a second time in the 1972-73.

Argentine legend Lionel Messi has won the most Golden Shoes, collecting the honor on six separate occasions during his long spell at FC Barcelona.

Messi set the record for highest tally in a campaign with fifty in 2011-12 (100 points). He also became the only player to ever to win it in three consecutive 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 on three further occasions with Real Madrid.

The first player to win the award while at an English club was Ian Rush in 1983-84, when he scored thirty-two goals for Liverpool.

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

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

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

Now, the very three players are competing at the top of the standings once more this season, with Kane presently leading the pack.