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

With a new winner in each of the previous three campaigns, the prize remains up for grabs. Manchester City star Erling Haaland was the most recent Premier League-based player to secure the trophy back in 2022-23.

The prodigious Norwegian goal-scorer is once again in the running this term, but faces tough competition from Bayern Munich forward Harry Kane and Real Madrid superstar Kylian Mbappe. With plenty of fixtures remaining, other players still have an opportunity to enter the contest.

Understanding the Golden Shoe?

The European Golden Shoe was introduced in the 1967-68 by the France-based publication L'Equipe to celebrate the top goalscorer in domestic league matches from a European top division league.

Since the 1997-98, the award has been overseen by European Sports Media, which implemented a points-based scoring system. Under this method, a player's goals are weighted with a specific coefficient based on the UEFA coefficient of their domestic competition.

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

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 honor has been shared on multiple occasions in the past, a regulation update from the 2019-20 season dictates that in the case of a tie, the trophy goes to the player with the least minutes played.

If the tie remains, the subsequent deciding factor is the number of league assists, followed by the least penalties scored. Only after these criteria are exhausted would the prize be shared.

Who are the Main Contenders?

At present, a three-way race is underway for the current season's Golden Shoe, with the three most recent 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 one back on 18 goals (36 points) in 18 La Liga games.

In fourth is Darko Lemajic of Latvia's 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 tied for fifth with 18 goals (27 points) from 17 Eredivisie matches this season.

The remainder of the top 10 is made up of players from leagues that function 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 biggest stars.

Portuguese icon Eusébio won the inaugural trophy in 1968, scoring 42 goals for SL Benfica. He then secured the award for a second time in the 1972-73.

Argentine maestro Lionel Messi has won the record number of Golden Shoes, claiming the honor on six times during his 17-year tenure at Barcelona.

Messi established the record 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 successive seasons from 2016 to 2019.

Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo claimed his first award in the 2007-08 season 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 Ian Rush in 1983-84, when he netted 32 goals for Liverpool FC.

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

Erling Haaland claimed 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 identical goal tally for Bayern Munich the next season.

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

Now, the very trio are battling at the top of the standings again this campaign, with Kane currently out in front the pack.