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The battle for the prestigious Golden Shoe is intensifying as the 2025-26 season passes its mid-season juncture.

With a new winner in every one of the previous three campaigns, the honor remains highly contested. Manchester City star Erling Haaland was the last Premier League-based forward to win the trophy back in 2022-23.

The prodigious Norwegian striker is once again in the running this term, but encounters formidable rivalry from Bayern Munich marksman Harry Kane and Spanish La Liga superstar Kylian Mbappe. With many fixtures remaining, other players still have an opportunity to enter the contest.

What is the Golden Shoe?

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

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

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

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

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

If the tie persists, the next deciding factor is the total of assists, followed by the least goals from the penalty spot. Only after these criteria are used would the award be split.

Who are the Main Contenders?

Currently, a three-horse battle is underway for the 2025-26 Golden Shoe, with the trio of previous winners split by just a single goal.

• Harry Kane (English captain) leads with 19 goals (38 points) from 15 Bundesliga matches.
• 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 Darko Lemajic of Latvia's side RFS, who has scored 28 goals (28 points) across the club's 36 league games in 2025.

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

The remainder of the current top ten is made up of players from leagues that operate on a calendar year schedule.

A Look at Previous Winners

Throughout its 59-year history, the Golden Shoe has been claimed by some of football's biggest legends.

Portuguese icon Eusebio won the inaugural trophy in 1968, scoring 42 goals for Benfica. He then won the award for a second time in the 1972-73.

Argentine maestro Lionel Messi has won the record number of Golden Shoes, collecting the honor on six occasions during his 17-year spell at FC Barcelona.

Messi established the benchmark for highest tally in a campaign with 50 in 2011-12 (100 points). He also became the first and only player to date to win it in three straight seasons from 2016 to 2019.

Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo claimed his first award in the 2007-08 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 club in England was Ian Rush in 1983-84, when he netted thirty-two goals for Liverpool FC.

The award has seen a new 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 36 goals (72 points). Harry Kane secured his first Golden Shoe with the same goal tally for Bayern Munich the following season.

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

Now, the same trio are vying at the top of the leaderboard once more this campaign, with Kane presently leading the way.