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

With a new winner in every one of the last three campaigns, the prize remains up for grabs. Premier League star Erling Haaland was the last Premier League-based striker to secure the trophy back in 2022-23.

The prodigious Norwegian striker is back in the running this season, but encounters tough competition from Bayern Munich marksman Harry Kane and Spanish La Liga phenomenon Kylian Mbappe. With many fixtures left to play, other talents still have an opportunity to throw their hat into the contest.

Understanding the Golden Shoe?

The European Golden Shoe was introduced in the 1967-68 by the France-based newspaper L'Equipe to recognize the top scorer in league matches from a European top division league.

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

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

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

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

If the tie remains, the next deciding factor is the total of assists, followed by the least penalties scored. Only if these tiebreakers are used would the prize be shared.

Identifying the Leading Contenders?

At present, a three-way race is underway for the current season's Golden Shoe, with the trio of most recent winners split by just a single goal.

• Harry Kane (England 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 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 forward Ayase Ueda is joint-fifth with 18 goals (27 points) from 17 Eredivisie fixtures this term.

The remainder of the current top ten is comprised of players from leagues that function on a calendar year schedule.

A Look at Past Recipients

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

Portuguese legend Eusebio won the first-ever 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 maestro Lionel Messi has won the most Golden Shoes, claiming the award on six times during his long tenure at FC Barcelona.

Messi set the benchmark 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 2016-17 to 2018-19.

Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo first won award in the 2007-08 season with Man Utd 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 Ian Rush in 1983-84, when he netted 32 goals for Liverpool.

The prize has seen a new 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 36 goals (72 points). Harry Kane earned his maiden Golden Shoe with the identical total 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 same trio are battling at the summit of the leaderboard once more this campaign, with Kane presently leading the pack.