Who is Leading in the Contest for the Golden Shoe?
The contest for the Golden Boot trophy is heating up as the current season approaches its halfway mark.
With a different winner in every one of the last three campaigns, the award remains wide open. Manchester City star Erling Haaland was the most recent Premier League-based player to secure the trophy back in the 2022-23 season.
The prolific Norwegian goal-scorer is back in the mix this season, but faces tough competition from German Bundesliga marksman Harry Kane and Spanish La Liga superstar Kylian Mbappe. With many games remaining, other talents still have time to throw their hat into the fray.
Understanding the European Golden Shoe Award?
The Golden Boot award was introduced in the 1967-68 season by the French newspaper L'Equipe to celebrate the leading goalscorer in domestic league matches from a European top division league.
Since the 1997-98 season, 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 designated multiplier based on the strength ranking of their domestic competition.
Goals scored in Europe's top five leagues—the English Premier League, Spanish La Liga, Bundesliga, Serie A, and French Ligue 1—are valued at two points each.
For competitions ranked sixth to 22nd in UEFA list, 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 regulation update from the 2019-20 season states that in the event of a tie, the trophy goes to the player with the least minutes played.
If the tie persists, the next deciding factor is the total of league assists, followed by the fewest penalties scored. Only after these criteria are used would the prize be shared.
Who are the Primary Challengers?
At present, a three-way tussle is underway for the 2025-26 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 fixtures.
- 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 place is RFS striker Darko Lemajic of Latvian side RFS, who has scored 28 goals (28 points) across their 36 league games in 2025.
Dutch side Feyenoord forward Ayase Ueda is joint-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 January-to-December schedule.
A Look at Past Recipients
Throughout its nearly six-decade existence, the Golden Shoe has been awarded to some of football's biggest legends.
Portuguese legend Eusebio won the inaugural trophy in 1968, scoring forty-two goals for Benfica. He then won the award for a second time in the 1972-73 season.
Argentine maestro Lionel Messi has won the most Golden Shoes, claiming the award on six times during his long spell at FC Barcelona.
Messi established the record for highest tally in a campaign with fifty in 2011-12 (100 points). He also became the only player to ever to win it in three successive seasons from 2016-17 to 2018-19.
Portuguese megastar 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 first player to win the award while at an English club was Ian Rush in 1983-84, when he netted 32 goals for Liverpool.
The award has seen a new winner in every one of the last three seasons.
Erling Haaland claimed the prize 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 same 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 trio are competing at the top of the leaderboard once more this campaign, with Kane currently out in front the way.
