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The contest for the Golden Boot trophy is heating up as the current season approaches its mid-season juncture.

With a different winner in each of the previous three campaigns, the award remains wide open. Manchester City star Erling Haaland was the last Premier League-based player to secure the award back in the 2022-23 season.

The prolific Norwegian striker is once again in the mix this season, but faces stiff rivalry from German Bundesliga forward Harry Kane and Spanish La Liga superstar Kylian Mbappe. With plenty of fixtures left to play, other players still have an opportunity to throw their hat into the contest.

What is the European Golden Shoe Award?

The Golden Boot award was inaugurated in the 1967-68 season by the French newspaper L'Equipe to celebrate the top goalscorer in domestic league matches from a European top-flight league.

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

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

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

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

If the deadlock persists, the subsequent deciding factor is the total of assists, followed by the least goals from the penalty spot. Only after these tiebreakers are used would the prize be split.

Who are the Primary Contenders?

As it stands, a three-way race exists for the current season's Golden Shoe, with the trio of most recent 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 appearances.
• Kylian Mbappe sits one back on 18 goals (36 points) in 18 La Liga matches.

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

Feyenoord striker Ayase Ueda is tied for fifth with 18 goals (27 points) from 17 Eredivisie matches this season.

The remainder of the top 10 is made up of players from leagues that operate on a calendar year schedule.

A Look at Previous Winners

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

Portuguese legend Eusébio won the inaugural trophy in 1968, scoring forty-two goals for SL Benfica. He later secured the award for a second time in the 1972-73.

Argentine legend Lionel Messi has won the record number of Golden Shoes, claiming the honor on six times during his 17-year tenure at Barcelona.

Messi set 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 successive seasons from 2016 to 2019.

Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo claimed his first award in the 2007-08 with Man Utd before going on 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 scored 32 goals for Liverpool.

The prize has seen a different winner in each of the past 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 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 vying at the top of the standings again this season, with Kane currently out in front the pack.