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The battle for the prestigious Golden Shoe is heating up as the current season passes its mid-season juncture.

With a new winner in each of the previous three campaigns, the prize remains highly contested. Premier League star Erling Haaland was the most recent Premier League-based forward to win the trophy back in the 2022-23 season.

The prolific Norwegian goal-scorer is once again in the hunt this term, but encounters formidable rivalry from Bayern Munich forward Harry Kane and Spanish La Liga phenomenon Kylian Mbappe. With many matches remaining, other players still have time to throw their hat into the contest.

Understanding the European Golden Shoe Award?

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

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

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

For competitions ranked from sixth to twenty-second in UEFA list, such as the Portuguese league, goals are worth 1.5 points. Goals in lower-ranked European leagues carry one point.

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

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

Who are the Primary Contenders?

At present, a three-horse battle exists for the current season's Golden Shoe, with the three previous winners separated by just a single 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 outings.
• Kylian Mbappe sits one back on 18 goals (36 points) in 18 La Liga games.

In fourth is RFS striker Darko Lemajic of Latvia's club RFS, who has netted 28 goals (28 points) across the club's 36 league games in 2025.

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

The rest of the current top ten is comprised of players from leagues that operate on a calendar year schedule.

Reviewing Previous Recipients

Throughout its nearly six-decade existence, the Golden Shoe has been awarded to some of football's most iconic legends.

Portuguese legend Eusébio won the inaugural trophy in 1968, scoring 42 goals for Benfica. He later won the award for a second time in the 1972-73.

Argentine legend Lionel Messi has secured the most Golden Shoes, collecting the award on six times during his 17-year spell at FC Barcelona.

Messi set the benchmark for most goals 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 to 2019.

Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo claimed his first award in the 2007-08 season 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 English club was Liverpool's Ian Rush in 1983-84, when he scored 32 goals for Liverpool.

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

Erling Haaland claimed the award 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 identical goal tally for Bayern Munich the next season.

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 battling at the top of the standings again this season, with Kane presently leading the pack.