Who is Leading in the Pursuit for the Golden Shoe?

The battle for the Golden Boot trophy is intensifying as the current season approaches its midway point.

With a different winner in each of the past three campaigns, the prize remains up for grabs. Premier League star Erling Haaland was the last Premier League-based player to claim the award back in 2022-23.

The prolific Norwegian striker is back in the mix this season, but encounters formidable competition from German Bundesliga marksman Harry Kane and Spanish La Liga superstar Kylian Mbappe. With plenty of games left to play, other talents still have an opportunity to enter the fray.

Understanding the Golden Shoe?

The European Golden Shoe was introduced in the 1967-68 season by the French newspaper L'Equipe to recognize the leading goalscorer in 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 tallies are weighted with a specific multiplier 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 are worth one point.

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

If the tie remains, the subsequent deciding factor is the number of assists, followed by the fewest goals from the penalty spot. Only after these criteria are used would the award be shared.

Identifying the Main Contenders?

As it stands, a three-way tussle exists 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 games.
• Erling Haaland also has 19 goals (38 points) from 17 Premier League outings.
• Kylian Mbappe sits just behind on 18 goals (36 points) in 18 La Liga matches.

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

Dutch side Feyenoord forward Ayase Ueda is joint-fifth with 18 goals (27 points) from 17 Eredivisie matches this season.

The remainder of the top 10 is comprised of players from leagues that function on a calendar year schedule.

A Look at Past Recipients

Throughout its 59-year existence, the Golden Shoe has been won by some of football's biggest stars.

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

Argentine legend Lionel Messi has won the record number of Golden Shoes, collecting the award on six occasions during his long tenure at FC Barcelona.

Messi set the benchmark for highest tally in a single season with fifty in 2011-12 (100 points). He also became the only player to ever to win it in three consecutive seasons from 2016-17 to 2018-19.

Portuguese megastar Cristiano Ronaldo claimed his first award in the 2007-08 season with Manchester United before going on to win it three more times with Real Madrid.

The inaugural 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 FC.

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

Erling Haaland scooped 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 goal tally for Bayern Munich the next year.

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

Now, the same three players are battling at the top of the leaderboard once more this campaign, with Kane currently out in front the pack.