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The contest for the European Golden Shoe is reaching a fever pitch as the current season approaches its midway point.

With a different winner in every one of the past three campaigns, the prize remains wide open. Premier League star Erling Haaland was the last Premier League-based forward to claim the trophy back in the 2022-23 season.

The prodigious Norwegian striker is once again in the hunt this season, but faces stiff competition from German Bundesliga marksman Harry Kane and Spanish La Liga superstar Kylian Mbappe. With plenty of fixtures remaining, other talents still have an opportunity to throw their hat into the fray.

Understanding the European Golden Shoe Award?

The Golden Boot award was inaugurated in the 1967-68 by the France-based publication L'Equipe to celebrate the leading goalscorer in league matches from a European top-flight league.

Since the 1997-98, the prize has been administered by European Sports Media, which implemented a points-based scoring system. Under this method, a player's goals are weighted with a designated multiplier based on the strength ranking of their domestic competition.

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

For leagues ranked from sixth to twenty-second in UEFA rankings, such as the Portuguese league, goals are worth one and a half points. Goals in all other European leagues carry one point.

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

If the deadlock remains, the next deciding factor is the total of assists, followed by the least goals from the penalty spot. Only after these criteria are used would the award be split.

Who are the Main Contenders?

As it stands, a three-horse race is underway for the current season's Golden Shoe, with the trio of most recent winners separated 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 outings.
• Kylian Mbappe sits just behind on 18 goals (36 points) in 18 La Liga matches.

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

Feyenoord forward Ayase Ueda is tied for fifth with 18 goals (27 points) from 17 Eredivisie matches this season.

The rest of the top 10 is comprised of players from leagues that function on a January-to-December schedule.

A Look at Previous Winners

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 later secured the award for a second time in the 1972-73.

Argentine legend Lionel Messi has won the most Golden Shoes, claiming the award on six occasions during his 17-year tenure at FC Barcelona.

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

Portuguese megastar Cristiano Ronaldo claimed his first award in the 2007-08 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 Liverpool's Ian Rush in 1983-84, when he scored 32 goals for Liverpool.

The prize has seen a new winner in each of the past three seasons.

Erling Haaland claimed the prize for the first time in 2022-23, scoring a Premier League record-equaling 36 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 reigning winner of the award after scoring 31 goals (62 points) for Real Madrid in 2024-25.

Now, the very three players are vying at the top of the leaderboard once more this campaign, with Kane currently leading the way.