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The competition for the Golden Boot trophy is heating up as the 2025-26 season nears its halfway mark.

With a different winner in each of the last three campaigns, the award remains up for grabs. 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 hunt this season, but faces formidable rivalry from Bayern Munich forward Harry Kane and Real Madrid superstar Kylian Mbappe. With many matches remaining, other players still have time to enter the contest.

What is the Golden Shoe?

The European Golden Shoe was first launched in the 1967-68 by the France-based publication L'Equipe to recognize the highest scorer in league matches from a European top division league.

Since the 1997-98, the award has been administered by European Sports Media, which introduced a weighted points system. Under this method, a player's tallies are multiplied by a specific coefficient based on the UEFA coefficient of their league.

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

For leagues ranked sixth to 22nd in UEFA rankings, such as the Portuguese Primeira Liga, goals are worth 1.5 points. Goals in lower-ranked European leagues carry one point.

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

If the tie persists, the subsequent tiebreaker is the total of league assists, followed by the least penalties scored. Only if these criteria are used would the prize be shared.

Who are the Leading Contenders?

At present, a three-horse battle exists for the current season's Golden Shoe, with the trio of previous winners split by just a single goal.

• Harry Kane (England captain) leads with 19 goals (38 points) from 15 Bundesliga matches.
• Erling Haaland also has 19 goals (38 points) from 17 Premier League outings.
• Kylian Mbappe sits just behind on 18 goals (36 points) in 18 La Liga matches.

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

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

The remainder of the top 10 is comprised of players from leagues that operate on a calendar year schedule.

A Look at Previous Recipients

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

Portuguese legend Eusebio claimed the first-ever 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 won the record number of Golden Shoes, claiming the award on six separate occasions during his 17-year tenure at FC Barcelona.

Messi set the record for highest tally in a campaign with fifty in 2011-12 (100 points). He also became the first and only player to date to win it in three consecutive seasons from 2016 to 2019.

Portuguese megastar Cristiano Ronaldo first won award in the 2007-08 season with Manchester United 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 Ian Rush in 1983-84, when he scored thirty-two goals for Liverpool FC.

The prize has seen a different winner in each of the past three seasons.

Erling Haaland claimed the award for the first time in 2022-23, scoring a Premier League record 36 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 winner of the award after scoring thirty-one goals (62 points) for Real Madrid in 2024-25.

Now, the very trio are battling at the summit of the leaderboard again this campaign, with Kane presently out in front the way.