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The contest for the European Golden Shoe is intensifying as the current season approaches its mid-season juncture.

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

The prodigious Norwegian striker is once again in the running this term, but faces formidable competition from Bayern Munich forward Harry Kane and Real Madrid superstar Kylian Mbappe. With plenty of games left to play, other talents still have time to enter the contest.

What is the European Golden Shoe Award?

The European Golden Shoe was inaugurated in the 1967-68 season by the France-based publication L'Equipe to honor the top scorer in domestic league matches from a European top division league.

Since the 1997-98 season, the prize has been administered by European Sports Media, which implemented a weighted scoring system. Under this method, a player's goals are weighted with a designated multiplier based on the UEFA coefficient of their domestic competition.

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

For competitions ranked sixth to 22nd in UEFA rankings, such as the Portuguese league, 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 case of a points tie, the award goes to the player with the fewest minutes played.

If the tie remains, the next deciding factor is the number of league assists, followed by the fewest penalties scored. Only after these tiebreakers are exhausted would the award be shared.

Identifying the Leading Challengers?

At present, a three-horse race is underway for the 2025-26 Golden Shoe, with the trio of most recent winners separated 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 appearances.
• Kylian Mbappe sits one back on 18 goals (36 points) in 18 La Liga games.

In fourth place is RFS striker Darko Lemajic of Latvian club RFS, who has netted 28 goals (28 points) across their 36 league games in 2025.

Dutch side Feyenoord forward Ayase Ueda is joint-fifth with 18 goals (27 points) from 17 Eredivisie matches this term.

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

Reviewing Previous Recipients

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

Portuguese legend Eusébio won the inaugural trophy in 1968, scoring forty-two goals for Benfica. He then won the award for a second time in the 1972-73 season.

Argentine legend Lionel Messi has secured the record number of Golden Shoes, collecting the award on six times during his 17-year tenure at FC Barcelona.

Messi established the benchmark for most goals 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 successive seasons from 2016-17 to 2018-19.

Portuguese megastar Cristiano Ronaldo claimed his first award in the 2007-08 season 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 FC.

The prize has seen a different 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 earned his maiden Golden Shoe with the identical goal tally 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 very trio are battling at the top of the standings once more this season, with Kane currently leading the way.