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

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

The prolific Norwegian striker is back in the running this season, but faces stiff rivalry from German Bundesliga marksman Harry Kane and Spanish La Liga superstar Kylian Mbappe. With plenty of games remaining, other players still have an opportunity to throw their hat into the fray.

Understanding the Golden Shoe?

The Golden Boot award was introduced in the 1967-68 by the France-based 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 introduced a weighted points system. Under this format, a player's goals are weighted with a designated multiplier based on the UEFA coefficient of their domestic competition.

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

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

While the honor has been shared on several occasions in the past, a rule change from the 2019-20 states that in the event of a points tie, the trophy goes to the player with the fewest minutes played.

If the tie persists, the next tiebreaker is the total of assists, followed by the fewest penalties scored. Only after these criteria 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 outings.
• Kylian Mbappe sits one back on 18 goals (36 points) in 18 La Liga matches.

In fourth place is Darko Lemajic of Latvia's club RFS, who has netted 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 matches this season.

The remainder 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 claimed by some of football's biggest names.

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

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

Messi set the benchmark for highest tally in a campaign with 50 in 2011-12 (100 points). He also became the first and only player to date to win it in three straight seasons from 2016 to 2019.

Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo first won award in the 2007-08 with Man Utd 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 netted 32 goals for Liverpool.

The prize has seen a different winner in each of the past three seasons.

Erling Haaland scooped the prize for the first time in 2022-23, scoring a Premier League record thirty-six goals (72 points). Harry Kane earned his first Golden Shoe with the same goal tally 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 trio are competing at the summit of the leaderboard again this campaign, with Kane currently leading the way.