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

With a new winner in every one of the past three campaigns, the award remains highly contested. Premier League star Erling Haaland was the last Premier League-based player to claim the trophy back in the 2022-23 season.

The prolific Norwegian striker is back in the mix this campaign, but encounters stiff competition from Bayern Munich 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 fray.

Understanding the Golden Shoe?

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

Since the 1997-98 season, the award has been administered by European Sports Media, which implemented a points-based scoring system. Under this format, a player's goals are multiplied by a specific multiplier based on the UEFA coefficient of their league.

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

For competitions 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 multiple instances in the past, a regulation update from the 2019-20 states that in the event of a points tie, the award goes to the player with the fewest minutes played.

If the tie persists, the subsequent deciding factor is the number of assists, followed by the least goals from the penalty spot. Only if these criteria are exhausted would the prize be split.

Who are the Leading Contenders?

At present, a three-way 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 one back on 18 goals (36 points) in 18 La Liga games.

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

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

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

A Look at Past Recipients

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

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

Argentine maestro Lionel Messi has won the record number of Golden Shoes, collecting the award on six separate occasions during his long spell at Barcelona.

Messi established the benchmark 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 consecutive seasons from 2016 to 2019.

Portuguese superstar 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 first player to win the award while at an English club was Ian Rush in 1983-84, when he netted 32 goals for Liverpool.

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

Erling Haaland scooped the award 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 same total for Bayern Munich the following year.

Kylian Mbappe is the reigning winner 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 campaign, with Kane currently leading the pack.