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The battle for the European Golden Shoe is intensifying as the 2025-26 season nears its mid-season juncture.

With a new winner in every one of the past three campaigns, the award remains wide open. Manchester City star Erling Haaland was the most recent Premier League-based striker to win the trophy back in 2022-23.

The prodigious Norwegian goal-scorer is back in the mix this season, but faces formidable competition from Bayern Munich forward Harry Kane and Spanish La Liga superstar Kylian Mbappe. With plenty of games remaining, other players still have an opportunity 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 by the France-based publication L'Equipe to celebrate 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 points-based scoring system. Under this format, a player's goals are multiplied by a specific coefficient based on the UEFA coefficient of their league.

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

For leagues ranked sixth to 22nd in UEFA's rankings, such as the Portuguese Primeira Liga, goals are worth one and a half points. Goals in lower-ranked European leagues are worth one point.

While the honor has been jointly won on several occasions in the past, a regulation update from the 2019-20 season dictates that in the event of a tie, the trophy goes to the player with the fewest minutes played.

If the deadlock persists, the next deciding factor is the total of assists, followed by the fewest penalties scored. Only after these tiebreakers are exhausted would the award be shared.

Who are the Primary Contenders?

At present, a three-way battle exists for the 2025-26 Golden Shoe, with the trio of previous winners split by just a single goal.

• Harry Kane (English 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 just behind on 18 goals (36 points) in 18 La Liga matches.

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

Feyenoord striker Ayase Ueda is joint-fifth with 18 goals (27 points) from 17 Eredivisie matches this season.

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

A Look at Previous Recipients

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

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

Argentine legend Lionel Messi has won the record number of Golden Shoes, collecting the honor on six occasions during his long tenure at FC Barcelona.

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

Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo first won 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 Liverpool's Ian Rush in 1983-84, when he scored 32 goals for Liverpool FC.

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

Erling Haaland scooped the prize for the first time in 2022-23, scoring a Premier League record-equaling thirty-six goals (72 points). Harry Kane secured his first Golden Shoe with the same goal tally for Bayern Munich the following year.

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

Now, the same trio are battling at the summit of the leaderboard again this season, with Kane presently out in front the way.