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The battle for the prestigious Golden Shoe is reaching a fever pitch as the 2025-26 season passes its midway point.

With a different winner in every one of the last three campaigns, the honor remains up for grabs. Premier League star Erling Haaland was the last Premier League-based player to win the award back in the 2022-23 season.

The prolific Norwegian goal-scorer is back in the mix this season, but faces stiff rivalry from German Bundesliga marksman Harry Kane and Real Madrid phenomenon Kylian Mbappe. With plenty of matches left to play, other players still have an opportunity to throw their hat into the fray.

Understanding the Golden Shoe?

The Golden Boot award was introduced in the 1967-68 season by the French publication L'Equipe to celebrate the highest scorer in league matches from a European top division league.

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

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

For leagues 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 honor has been jointly won on multiple occasions in the past, a regulation update from the 2019-20 dictates that in the event of a tie, the trophy goes to the player with the least minutes played.

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

Who are the Primary Contenders?

Currently, a three-horse race 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 is Darko Lemajic of Latvian club RFS, who has netted 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 fixtures this season.

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

A Look at Past Recipients

Throughout its 59-year history, the Golden Shoe has been awarded to some of football's most iconic stars.

Portuguese icon Eusébio won the first-ever trophy in 1968, scoring 42 goals for SL Benfica. He later secured the award for a second time in the 1972-73 season.

Argentine legend Lionel Messi has secured the record number of Golden Shoes, claiming the honor on six times during his long tenure at FC Barcelona.

Messi established the record for highest tally in a single season with 50 in 2011-12 (100 points). He also became the first and only player to ever to win it in three straight seasons from 2016-17 to 2018-19.

Portuguese megastar Cristiano Ronaldo first won award in the 2007-08 with Man Utd before proceeding to win it on three further occasions with Real Madrid.

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

The prize has seen a new winner in every one of the last three seasons.

Erling Haaland scooped the prize for the first time in 2022-23, scoring a Premier League record thirty-six goals (72 points). Harry Kane secured his maiden Golden Shoe with the identical 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 very three players are competing at the top of the standings again this campaign, with Kane presently leading the pack.