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The contest for the Golden Boot trophy is intensifying as the current season nears its mid-season juncture.

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

The prolific Norwegian striker is once again in the running this season, but encounters stiff rivalry from Bayern Munich marksman Harry Kane and Real Madrid superstar Kylian Mbappe. With plenty of fixtures remaining, other players 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 France-based newspaper L'Equipe to celebrate the top goalscorer in league matches from a European top-flight league.

Since the 1997-98, the prize has been overseen by European Sports Media, which implemented a points-based scoring system. Under this format, a player's goals are weighted with 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 French Ligue 1—are worth two points apiece.

For leagues ranked sixth to 22nd in UEFA's list, such as the Portuguese league, goals are worth one and a half points. Goals in lower-ranked European leagues are worth one point.

While the honor has been shared on several instances in the past, a rule change from the 2019-20 season states that in the case of a points tie, the award goes to the player with the least minutes played.

If the tie remains, the subsequent deciding factor is the number of league assists, followed by the fewest penalties scored. Only if these criteria are used would the award be split.

Identifying the Main Challengers?

At present, a three-horse battle is underway for the current season's Golden Shoe, with the trio of previous winners separated 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 appearances.
• Kylian Mbappe sits just behind on 18 goals (36 points) in 18 La Liga games.

In fourth is RFS striker Darko Lemajic of Latvia's club RFS, who has scored 28 goals (28 points) across the club's 36 league games in 2025.

Dutch side Feyenoord forward Ayase Ueda is tied for fifth with 18 goals (27 points) from 17 Eredivisie fixtures this season.

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

Reviewing Past Winners

Throughout its nearly six-decade existence, the Golden Shoe has been won by some of football's most iconic stars.

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

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

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

Portuguese megastar Cristiano Ronaldo claimed his first award in the 2007-08 with Man Utd before proceeding to win it three more times with Real Madrid.

The inaugural player to win the award while at an English club was Liverpool's Ian Rush in 1983-84, when he scored thirty-two goals for Liverpool FC.

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-equaling 36 goals (72 points). Harry Kane secured his maiden Golden Shoe with the same goal tally for Bayern Munich the following 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 season, with Kane presently leading the way.