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The competition for the prestigious Golden Shoe is reaching a fever pitch as the current season nears its halfway mark.

With a new winner in every one of the previous three campaigns, the prize remains up for grabs. Manchester City star Erling Haaland was the most recent Premier League-based forward to claim the trophy back in the 2022-23 season.

The prodigious Norwegian striker is once again in the mix this season, but faces stiff rivalry from German Bundesliga marksman Harry Kane and Spanish La Liga phenomenon Kylian Mbappe. With many fixtures left to play, other players still have time to throw their hat into the fray.

What is the European Golden Shoe Award?

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

Since the 1997-98 season, the award has been overseen by European Sports Media, which implemented a weighted 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 Europe's five major leagues—the Premier League, La Liga, German Bundesliga, Serie A, and French Ligue 1—are worth two points each.

For competitions ranked from sixth to twenty-second in UEFA's rankings, such as the Portuguese league, goals are worth 1.5 points. Goals in all other European leagues carry one point.

While the award has been shared on several instances in the past, a regulation update from the 2019-20 states that in the case of a points tie, the trophy goes to the player with the least minutes played.

If the tie remains, the next tiebreaker is the total of assists, followed by the least goals from the penalty spot. Only after these criteria are exhausted would the prize be shared.

Who are the Primary Challengers?

At present, a three-way tussle is underway for the current season's Golden Shoe, with the trio of most recent winners split by just a single goal.

• Harry Kane (England captain) leads with 19 goals (38 points) from 15 Bundesliga games.
• 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 place is Darko Lemajic of Latvian club RFS, who has netted 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 matches this term.

The rest of the top 10 is comprised of players from leagues that function on a calendar year schedule.

Reviewing Previous Recipients

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

Portuguese legend Eusébio won the inaugural 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 won the most Golden Shoes, claiming the honor on six separate occasions during his long tenure at FC Barcelona.

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

Portuguese megastar Cristiano Ronaldo claimed his first award in the 2007-08 season with Man Utd before going on to win it three more times with Real Madrid.

The first 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 award has seen a new winner in each of the last three seasons.

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

Kylian Mbappe is the reigning holder of the award after scoring 31 goals (62 points) for Real Madrid in 2024-25.

Now, the same trio are vying at the summit of the standings again this season, with Kane presently out in front the pack.