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The battle for the European Golden Shoe is heating up as the current season approaches its halfway mark.

With a new winner in each of the past three campaigns, the honor remains wide open. Premier League star Erling Haaland was the most recent Premier League-based forward to win the trophy back in 2022-23.

The prodigious Norwegian goal-scorer is back in the hunt this term, but encounters stiff rivalry from German Bundesliga forward Harry Kane and Real Madrid phenomenon Kylian Mbappe. With many games left to play, other players still have an opportunity to enter the contest.

Understanding the European Golden Shoe Award?

The European Golden Shoe was first launched in the 1967-68 by the French publication L'Equipe to recognize the highest goalscorer in league matches from a European top division league.

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

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

For competitions ranked from sixth to twenty-second in UEFA's rankings, such as the Portuguese league, goals are worth 1.5 points. Goals in all other European leagues are worth one point.

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

If the deadlock remains, the subsequent deciding factor is the total of assists, followed by the least penalties scored. Only after these criteria are exhausted would the prize be shared.

Identifying the Primary Contenders?

Currently, a three-way tussle is underway for the 2025-26 Golden Shoe, with the trio of previous winners separated by just a single goal.

• Harry Kane (English captain) leads with 19 goals (38 points) from 15 Bundesliga fixtures.
• Erling Haaland also has 19 goals (38 points) from 17 Premier League appearances.
• Kylian Mbappe sits one back on 18 goals (36 points) in 18 La Liga matches.

In fourth is Darko Lemajic of Latvian side RFS, who has scored 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 remainder of the current top ten is made up of players from leagues that operate on a calendar year schedule.

Reviewing Previous Recipients

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

Portuguese icon Eusébio won the inaugural trophy in 1968, scoring 42 goals for SL Benfica. He then won the award for a second time in the 1972-73 season.

Argentine maestro Lionel Messi has secured the record number of Golden Shoes, claiming the honor on six times during his long tenure at Barcelona.

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

Portuguese megastar Cristiano Ronaldo claimed his first 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 Liverpool's Ian Rush in 1983-84, when he netted 32 goals for Liverpool FC.

The award has seen a new winner in every one of the past three seasons.

Erling Haaland won the prize for the first time in 2022-23, scoring a Premier League record-equaling 36 goals (72 points). Harry Kane secured his maiden Golden Shoe with the same goal tally for Bayern Munich the next season.

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

Now, the same three players are vying at the top of the leaderboard again this season, with Kane presently out in front the way.