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The contest for the prestigious Golden Shoe is intensifying as the current season passes its midway point.

With a new winner in every one of the past three campaigns, the honor remains highly contested. Manchester City star Erling Haaland was the most recent Premier League-based striker to claim the award back in 2022-23.

The prolific Norwegian goal-scorer is back in the mix this campaign, but encounters stiff rivalry from Bayern Munich forward Harry Kane and Spanish La Liga phenomenon Kylian Mbappe. With many fixtures remaining, other talents still have an opportunity to throw their hat into the fray.

What is the European Golden Shoe Award?

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

Since the 1997-98, the prize has been overseen by European Sports Media, which implemented a weighted points system. Under this format, 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, Spanish La Liga, Bundesliga, Serie A, and French Ligue 1—are worth two points apiece.

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

While the award has been jointly won 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 fewest minutes played.

If the tie persists, the subsequent tiebreaker is the number of league assists, followed by the least goals from the penalty spot. Only if these tiebreakers are used would the prize be shared.

Who are the Main Challengers?

Currently, a three-way battle exists for the current season's Golden Shoe, with the three previous winners separated by just a solitary 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 outings.
• Kylian Mbappe sits one back 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 their 36 league games in 2025.

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

The remainder of the top 10 is comprised of players from leagues that function on a January-to-December schedule.

A Look at Previous Recipients

Throughout its nearly six-decade history, the Golden Shoe has been won by some of football's biggest names.

Portuguese legend Eusébio won 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 occasions during his 17-year spell at Barcelona.

Messi established the benchmark for highest tally in a single season with fifty in 2011-12 (100 points). He also became the only player to date to win it in three consecutive 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 three more times with Real Madrid.

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

The prize has seen a different 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 36 goals (72 points). Harry Kane secured his maiden Golden Shoe with the same goal tally for Bayern Munich the next 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 same three players are competing at the summit of the leaderboard again this season, with Kane currently leading the way.