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The competition for the prestigious Golden Shoe is heating up as the 2025-26 season approaches its mid-season juncture.

With a different winner in every one of the previous three campaigns, the prize remains wide open. Premier League star Erling Haaland was the most recent Premier League-based forward to secure the award back in 2022-23.

The prodigious Norwegian striker is back in the mix this term, but encounters tough competition from German Bundesliga marksman Harry Kane and Real Madrid phenomenon Kylian Mbappe. With plenty of games remaining, other talents still have time to enter the fray.

What is the Golden Shoe?

The Golden Boot award was inaugurated in the 1967-68 by the French publication L'Equipe to celebrate the top goalscorer in league matches from a European top-flight league.

Since the 1997-98 season, the prize has been overseen by European Sports Media, which introduced a points-based points system. Under this method, a player's goals are multiplied by a specific coefficient based on the strength ranking of their domestic competition.

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

For leagues ranked sixth to 22nd in UEFA list, such as the Portuguese league, goals are worth one and a half points. Goals in all other European leagues are worth one point.

While the honor has been jointly won on several instances in the past, a rule change 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 next tiebreaker is the number of league assists, followed by the least penalties scored. Only after these tiebreakers are exhausted would the award be split.

Who are the Main Contenders?

As it stands, a three-horse tussle exists for the current season's Golden Shoe, with the trio of most recent winners separated 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 matches.

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

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

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

Reviewing Past Winners

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

Portuguese icon 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 maestro Lionel Messi has won the record number of Golden Shoes, claiming the award on six times during his 17-year spell at FC Barcelona.

Messi established the benchmark for most goals in a single season with 50 in 2011-12 (100 points). He also became the only player to date to win it in three successive seasons from 2016 to 2019.

Portuguese megastar Cristiano Ronaldo first won award in the 2007-08 season with Manchester United before proceeding to win it three more times with Real Madrid.

The inaugural player to win the award while at an club in England was Ian Rush in 1983-84, when he netted 32 goals for Liverpool.

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 secured his maiden Golden Shoe with the same total for Bayern Munich the following 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 competing at the top of the standings again this season, with Kane presently leading the way.