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The competition for the prestigious Golden Shoe is reaching a fever pitch as the current season nears its midway point.

With a new winner in each of the past three campaigns, the award remains highly contested. Manchester City star Erling Haaland was the last Premier League-based striker to win the trophy back in 2022-23.

The prolific Norwegian striker is once again in the hunt this term, but encounters formidable rivalry from German Bundesliga marksman Harry Kane and Real Madrid phenomenon Kylian Mbappe. With plenty of games remaining, other talents still have time to enter the contest.

Understanding the Golden Shoe?

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

Since the 1997-98, the prize has been overseen by European Sports Media, which introduced a points-based points system. Under this method, a player's tallies are weighted with a designated multiplier based on the strength ranking of their league.

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

For leagues ranked sixth to 22nd 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 award has been jointly won on several instances in the past, a regulation update from the 2019-20 dictates that in the event of a points tie, the award goes to the player with the fewest minutes played.

If the tie remains, the subsequent tiebreaker is the total of assists, followed by the least goals from the penalty spot. Only if these criteria are exhausted would the prize be shared.

Identifying the Primary Challengers?

Currently, a three-horse tussle exists for the current season's Golden Shoe, with the three previous winners split by just a solitary 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 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 side RFS, who has netted 28 goals (28 points) across their 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 rest of the current top ten is comprised of players from leagues that operate on a calendar year schedule.

Reviewing Past Winners

Throughout its 59-year existence, the Golden Shoe has been awarded to some of football's most iconic names.

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

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

Messi established the record for highest tally in a campaign with 50 in 2011-12 (100 points). He also became the first and only player to date to win it in three successive seasons from 2016-17 to 2018-19.

Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo claimed his first award in the 2007-08 season with Manchester United before going on to win it on three further occasions 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 netted 32 goals for Liverpool FC.

The prize has seen a new winner in every one of the last three seasons.

Erling Haaland won the award for the first time in 2022-23, scoring a Premier League record 36 goals (72 points). Harry Kane secured his first 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 very trio are vying at the summit of the leaderboard once more this campaign, with Kane presently out in front the pack.