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The competition for the Golden Boot trophy is reaching a fever pitch as the current season passes its mid-season juncture.

With a new winner in every one of the previous three campaigns, the prize remains wide open. Manchester City star Erling Haaland was the last Premier League-based player to claim the trophy back in 2022-23.

The prodigious Norwegian goal-scorer is once again in the running this term, but faces tough rivalry from German Bundesliga forward Harry Kane and Real Madrid phenomenon Kylian Mbappe. With many matches remaining, other talents still have time to enter the fray.

Understanding the European Golden Shoe Award?

The Golden Boot award was first launched in the 1967-68 by the French newspaper L'Equipe to celebrate the leading scorer in domestic league matches from a European top-flight league.

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

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

For leagues ranked sixth to 22nd in UEFA list, such as the Portuguese league, goals are worth 1.5 points. Goals in all other European leagues carry one point.

While the honor has been shared on several occasions in the past, a regulation update from the 2019-20 season dictates that in the case of a points tie, the award goes to the player with the fewest minutes played.

If the deadlock remains, the next deciding factor is the number of assists, followed by the least penalties scored. Only if these criteria are used would the award be split.

Identifying the Primary Contenders?

Currently, a three-horse race is underway for the 2025-26 Golden Shoe, with the three most recent winners split by just a single goal.

• Harry Kane (England captain) leads with 19 goals (38 points) from 15 Bundesliga fixtures.
• 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 games.

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 season.

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

A Look at Past Winners

Throughout its nearly six-decade existence, the Golden Shoe has been claimed by some of football's biggest legends.

Portuguese legend Eusébio claimed the inaugural trophy in 1968, scoring 42 goals for SL Benfica. He later won the award for a second time in the 1972-73 season.

Argentine legend Lionel Messi has secured the most Golden Shoes, claiming the honor on six occasions during his 17-year tenure at Barcelona.

Messi established the record for highest tally in a campaign with 50 in 2011-12 (100 points). He also became the only player to date to win it in three consecutive 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 three more times with Real Madrid.

The inaugural player to win the award while at an club in England was Liverpool's Ian Rush in 1983-84, when he netted thirty-two goals for Liverpool.

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

Erling Haaland won the award 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 total for Bayern Munich the next year.

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

Now, the very trio are competing at the top of the leaderboard again this season, with Kane currently leading the way.