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The competition for the European Golden Shoe is intensifying as the current season nears its halfway mark.

With a different winner in each of the past three campaigns, the honor remains wide open. Premier League star Erling Haaland was the last Premier League-based player to secure the award back in 2022-23.

The prolific Norwegian striker is back in the mix this season, but encounters stiff rivalry from German Bundesliga marksman Harry Kane and Real Madrid phenomenon Kylian Mbappe. With plenty of fixtures remaining, other players still have time to enter the fray.

What is the Golden Shoe?

The Golden Boot award was introduced in the 1967-68 season by the French newspaper L'Equipe to celebrate the leading scorer in league matches from a European top-flight league.

Since the 1997-98, the prize has been overseen 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 UEFA coefficient of their league.

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

For leagues ranked from sixth to twenty-second in UEFA rankings, such as the Portuguese Primeira Liga, goals are worth 1.5 points. Goals in all other European leagues carry one point.

While the honor has been jointly won on several occasions in the past, a rule change from the 2019-20 season states that in the event of a points tie, the trophy goes to the player with the least minutes played.

If the deadlock persists, the next deciding factor is the total of league assists, followed by the least goals from the penalty spot. Only after these tiebreakers are exhausted would the award be split.

Who are the Primary Contenders?

Currently, a three-horse race exists for the 2025-26 Golden Shoe, with the three most recent winners separated 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 appearances.
• Kylian Mbappe sits one back on 18 goals (36 points) in 18 La Liga games.

In fourth place is RFS striker Darko Lemajic of Latvia's club RFS, who has scored 28 goals (28 points) across their 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 season.

The remainder of the top 10 is made up of players from leagues that function on a January-to-December schedule.

Reviewing Past Winners

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

Portuguese icon Eusébio won 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 season.

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

Messi set the record 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 successive seasons from 2016-17 to 2018-19.

Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo first won award in the 2007-08 with Man Utd before going on 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 netted thirty-two goals for Liverpool.

The award 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 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 three players are vying at the summit of the standings again this campaign, with Kane currently out in front the pack.