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

With a different winner in each of the previous three campaigns, the prize remains highly contested. Premier League star Erling Haaland was the last Premier League-based striker to win the award back in 2022-23.

The prodigious Norwegian goal-scorer is once again in the hunt this season, but faces stiff rivalry from German Bundesliga forward Harry Kane and Real Madrid phenomenon Kylian Mbappe. With plenty of fixtures remaining, other talents still have time to throw their hat into the contest.

What is the European Golden Shoe Award?

The European Golden Shoe was introduced in the 1967-68 by the French publication L'Equipe to recognize the leading scorer in domestic league matches from a European top-flight league.

Since the 1997-98, the prize has been administered by European Sports Media, which introduced a points-based points system. Under this method, a player's tallies are multiplied by a specific multiplier based on the UEFA coefficient of their league.

Goals scored in the continent's five major leagues—the English Premier League, La Liga, German Bundesliga, Serie A, and 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 all other European leagues carry one point.

While the award has been shared on multiple instances in the past, a rule change from the 2019-20 states that in the event of a tie, the trophy goes to the player with the least minutes played.

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

Identifying the Main Contenders?

Currently, a three-horse race is underway for the current season's Golden Shoe, with the three previous winners split by just a solitary 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 is RFS striker 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 matches this season.

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

Reviewing Past Winners

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

Portuguese icon Eusébio won the first-ever trophy in 1968, scoring 42 goals for SL 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 separate occasions during his 17-year spell at Barcelona.

Messi established the record for most goals in a single season with 50 in 2011-12 (100 points). He also became the first and only player to date to win it in three straight seasons from 2016 to 2019.

Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo first won award in the 2007-08 with Man Utd 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 Ian Rush in 1983-84, when he netted 32 goals for Liverpool.

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

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

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

Now, the very three players are vying at the summit of the standings again this season, with Kane currently out in front the pack.