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The competition for the prestigious Golden Shoe is reaching a fever pitch as the current season passes its mid-season juncture.

With a different winner in every one of the last three campaigns, the award remains wide open. Manchester City star Erling Haaland was the last Premier League-based striker to claim the award back in the 2022-23 season.

The prodigious Norwegian striker is back in the running this campaign, but faces tough competition from German Bundesliga marksman Harry Kane and Real Madrid superstar Kylian Mbappe. With many games left to play, other talents still have time to enter the contest.

Understanding the Golden Shoe?

The Golden Boot award was inaugurated in the 1967-68 by the French publication 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 points system. Under this method, a player's tallies are weighted with a designated multiplier based on the strength ranking of their league.

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

For leagues ranked sixth to 22nd in UEFA's list, 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 multiple occasions in the past, a regulation update from the 2019-20 states that in the event of a tie, the trophy goes to the player with the fewest minutes played.

If the tie persists, the next tiebreaker is the number of assists, followed by the fewest penalties scored. Only after these tiebreakers are used would the award be shared.

Who are the Main Challengers?

At present, a three-way tussle exists for the 2025-26 Golden Shoe, with the trio of most recent winners split by just a solitary 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 games.

In fourth place is Darko Lemajic of Latvian 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 joint-fifth with 18 goals (27 points) from 17 Eredivisie matches this season.

The rest of the top 10 is comprised of players from leagues that operate on a January-to-December schedule.

Reviewing Past Recipients

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

Portuguese legend Eusebio claimed the first-ever trophy in 1968, scoring forty-two goals for Benfica. He later secured the award for a second time in the 1972-73.

Argentine maestro Lionel Messi has won the most Golden Shoes, collecting the award on six separate 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 first and only player to date to win it in three straight seasons from 2016-17 to 2018-19.

Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo first won award in the 2007-08 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 English club was Ian Rush in 1983-84, when he scored thirty-two goals for Liverpool FC.

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

Erling Haaland scooped the prize for the first time in 2022-23, scoring a Premier League record-equaling thirty-six goals (72 points). Harry Kane earned his maiden Golden Shoe with the identical total for Bayern Munich the following 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 summit of the standings again this campaign, with Kane presently leading the pack.