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The competition for the prestigious Golden Shoe is intensifying as the current season nears its midway point.

With a different winner in each of the past three campaigns, the prize remains wide open. Premier League star Erling Haaland was the most recent Premier League-based forward to secure the trophy back in the 2022-23 season.

The prodigious Norwegian goal-scorer is back in the running this campaign, but faces formidable rivalry from German Bundesliga forward Harry Kane and Spanish La Liga superstar Kylian Mbappe. With plenty of fixtures left to play, other talents still have an opportunity to throw their hat into the fray.

Understanding the European Golden Shoe Award?

The Golden Boot award was first launched in the 1967-68 by the France-based publication L'Equipe to honor the top goalscorer in domestic league matches from a European top division league.

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

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

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

While the honor has been shared on multiple occasions in the past, a rule change from the 2019-20 dictates that in the event of a tie, the award goes to the player with the least minutes played.

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

Who are the Main Contenders?

As it stands, a three-way tussle is underway 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 just behind on 18 goals (36 points) in 18 La Liga games.

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

Dutch side 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 made up of players from leagues that operate on a January-to-December schedule.

A Look at Past Recipients

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

Portuguese icon Eusebio won the first-ever trophy in 1968, scoring 42 goals for SL Benfica. He then 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 separate times during his 17-year spell at FC Barcelona.

Messi established the benchmark for most goals in a campaign with fifty in 2011-12 (100 points). He also became the only player to date to win it in three successive seasons from 2016-17 to 2018-19.

Portuguese megastar Cristiano Ronaldo claimed his first award in the 2007-08 with Manchester United before proceeding to win it three more times 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 32 goals for Liverpool.

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

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

Kylian Mbappe is the current winner 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 once more this season, with Kane currently out in front the way.