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The battle for the European Golden Shoe is reaching a fever pitch as the current season nears its halfway mark.

With a different winner in every one 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 trophy back in the 2022-23 season.

The prolific Norwegian striker is back in the running this campaign, but encounters formidable rivalry from German Bundesliga marksman Harry Kane and Spanish La Liga superstar Kylian Mbappe. With plenty of games remaining, other players still have an opportunity to enter the contest.

What is the European Golden Shoe Award?

The Golden Boot award was first launched in the 1967-68 season by the French publication L'Equipe to honor the leading goalscorer in league matches from a European top-flight league.

Since the 1997-98 season, the award has been administered by European Sports Media, which implemented a points-based scoring system. Under this format, a player's tallies are weighted with a specific coefficient based on the strength ranking of their domestic competition.

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

For leagues 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 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 tie, the award goes to the player with the fewest minutes played.

If the deadlock remains, the subsequent tiebreaker is the total of assists, followed by the least penalties scored. Only after these tiebreakers are used would the prize be split.

Identifying the Leading Challengers?

At present, a three-way race exists for the current season's Golden Shoe, with the trio of most recent winners separated by just a single 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 just behind on 18 goals (36 points) in 18 La Liga matches.

In fourth place is RFS striker Darko Lemajic of Latvian side RFS, who has scored 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 term.

The rest of the top 10 is comprised of players from leagues that operate on a January-to-December schedule.

Reviewing Previous Recipients

Throughout its nearly six-decade history, the Golden Shoe has been claimed by some of football's most iconic legends.

Portuguese legend Eusébio claimed the inaugural trophy in 1968, scoring forty-two goals for SL Benfica. He then secured the award for a second time in the 1972-73.

Argentine maestro Lionel Messi has won the record number of Golden Shoes, claiming the honor on six separate times during his long spell at Barcelona.

Messi set the benchmark for highest tally in a single season with 50 in 2011-12 (100 points). He also became the only player to ever to win it in three straight seasons from 2016-17 to 2018-19.

Portuguese superstar 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 first player to win the award while at an English club was Liverpool's Ian Rush in 1983-84, when he netted thirty-two goals for Liverpool FC.

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

Erling Haaland claimed the prize for the first time in 2022-23, scoring a Premier League record-equaling 36 goals (72 points). Harry Kane earned his maiden Golden Shoe with the same total for Bayern Munich the following season.

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

Now, the same trio are battling at the summit of the standings once more this campaign, with Kane presently out in front the way.