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The contest for the prestigious Golden Shoe is reaching a fever pitch as the current season approaches its mid-season juncture.

With a different winner in each of the previous three campaigns, the award remains highly contested. Premier League star Erling Haaland was the last Premier League-based striker to claim the trophy back in the 2022-23 season.

The prodigious Norwegian goal-scorer is back in the hunt this campaign, but encounters tough competition from Bayern Munich forward Harry Kane and Spanish La Liga superstar Kylian Mbappe. With plenty of games remaining, other talents still have time to enter the fray.

What is the Golden Shoe?

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

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

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

For leagues ranked sixth to 22nd in UEFA list, such as the Portuguese Primeira Liga, goals are worth 1.5 points. Goals in lower-ranked European leagues are worth one point.

While the award has been jointly won on several instances in the past, a rule change from the 2019-20 season states that in the event of a tie, the award goes to the player with the fewest minutes played.

If the deadlock persists, the next deciding factor is the number of assists, followed by the fewest goals from the penalty spot. Only after these criteria are used would the prize be split.

Who are the Primary Challengers?

As it stands, a three-horse tussle exists for the current season's Golden Shoe, with the three previous winners separated by just a single goal.

• Harry Kane (English captain) leads with 19 goals (38 points) from 15 Bundesliga games.
• 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 games.

In fourth place is RFS striker 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 tied for fifth with 18 goals (27 points) from 17 Eredivisie matches this term.

The rest of the top 10 is made up of players from leagues that operate on a January-to-December schedule.

A Look at Past Winners

Throughout its 59-year history, the Golden Shoe has been awarded to some of football's biggest legends.

Portuguese icon Eusebio claimed the first-ever trophy in 1968, scoring forty-two goals for Benfica. He later 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 occasions during his 17-year tenure at FC Barcelona.

Messi established the benchmark for highest tally in a campaign with fifty in 2011-12 (100 points). He also became the first and only player to date to win it in three straight seasons from 2016 to 2019.

Portuguese megastar Cristiano Ronaldo first won award in the 2007-08 season with Man Utd before proceeding to win it on three further occasions with Real Madrid.

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

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

Erling Haaland scooped the prize for the first time in 2022-23, scoring a Premier League record thirty-six goals (72 points). Harry Kane earned his first Golden Shoe with the identical total for Bayern Munich the following year.

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

Now, the very trio are competing at the top of the leaderboard once more this season, with Kane currently out in front the way.