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The competition for the European Golden Shoe is reaching a fever pitch as the 2025-26 season passes its midway point.

With a new winner in every one of the previous three campaigns, the honor remains wide open. 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 once again in the running this season, but encounters stiff rivalry from German Bundesliga forward Harry Kane and Spanish La Liga superstar Kylian Mbappe. With many games left to play, other players still have an opportunity to enter the fray.

What is the European Golden Shoe Award?

The European Golden Shoe was first launched in the 1967-68 by the French newspaper L'Equipe to honor the leading scorer in league matches from a European top division league.

Since the 1997-98, the award has been overseen by European Sports Media, which implemented a weighted scoring system. Under this format, a player's tallies are multiplied by a designated multiplier based on the strength ranking of their domestic competition.

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

For competitions ranked from sixth to twenty-second in UEFA rankings, such as the Portuguese Primeira Liga, goals are worth 1.5 points. Goals in all other European leagues are worth 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 case of a points tie, the trophy goes to the player with the fewest minutes played.

If the tie remains, the subsequent deciding factor is the number of assists, followed by the least goals from the penalty spot. Only after these criteria are used would the award be shared.

Who are the Primary Contenders?

At present, a three-way race is underway for the 2025-26 Golden Shoe, with the trio of previous 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 outings.
• Kylian Mbappe sits one back on 18 goals (36 points) in 18 La Liga matches.

In fourth place is 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 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 Winners

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

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

Argentine legend Lionel Messi has won the most Golden Shoes, claiming the honor on six times during his long tenure at FC Barcelona.

Messi set the record for most goals in a campaign with fifty in 2011-12 (100 points). He also became the only player to date to win it in three straight seasons from 2016-17 to 2018-19.

Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo first won award in the 2007-08 season with Manchester United before going on to win it three more times with Real Madrid.

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

The prize has seen a different winner in every one of the past 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 earned his maiden Golden Shoe with the identical goal tally for Bayern Munich the following season.

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 three players are vying at the summit of the standings once more this campaign, with Kane currently out in front the way.