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The competition for the European Golden Shoe is reaching a fever pitch as the 2025-26 season nears its midway point.

With a new winner in every one of the past three campaigns, the award remains up for grabs. Manchester City star Erling Haaland was the last Premier League-based forward to claim the award back in 2022-23.

The prodigious Norwegian goal-scorer is back in the mix this term, but encounters formidable rivalry from Bayern Munich forward Harry Kane and Real Madrid phenomenon Kylian Mbappe. With plenty of games left to play, other talents still have an opportunity to throw their hat into the contest.

Understanding the European Golden Shoe Award?

The European Golden Shoe was introduced in the 1967-68 season by the France-based newspaper L'Equipe to recognize the highest goalscorer in league matches from a European top division league.

Since the 1997-98, the prize has been administered by European Sports Media, which implemented a points-based scoring system. Under this format, a player's tallies are multiplied by a designated multiplier based on the strength ranking of their domestic competition.

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

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

While the honor has been shared on multiple instances in the past, a regulation update from the 2019-20 states that in the event of a points tie, the trophy goes to the player with the least minutes played.

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

Who are the Primary Contenders?

As it stands, a three-horse tussle 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 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 is Darko Lemajic of Latvia's side RFS, who has netted 28 goals (28 points) across their 36 league games in 2025.

Feyenoord striker Ayase Ueda is joint-fifth with 18 goals (27 points) from 17 Eredivisie fixtures this season.

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

A Look at Previous Recipients

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

Portuguese icon Eusebio claimed 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 maestro Lionel Messi has secured the most Golden Shoes, collecting the honor on six occasions during his long spell at FC Barcelona.

Messi set the benchmark for most goals in a campaign with fifty in 2011-12 (100 points). He also became the first and only player to ever to win it in three successive seasons from 2016 to 2019.

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

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

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

Erling Haaland won the prize for the first time in 2022-23, scoring a Premier League record-equaling 36 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 vying at the top of the standings again this season, with Kane currently leading the way.