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The battle for the prestigious Golden Shoe is reaching a fever pitch as the 2025-26 season nears its mid-season juncture.

With a new winner in every one of the past three campaigns, the award remains up for grabs. Manchester City star Erling Haaland was the most recent Premier League-based player to claim the award back in 2022-23.

The prodigious Norwegian goal-scorer is once again in the mix this campaign, but faces formidable rivalry from German Bundesliga forward Harry Kane and Real Madrid superstar Kylian Mbappe. With many matches left to play, other talents still have time to throw their hat into the fray.

Understanding the Golden Shoe?

The Golden Boot award was inaugurated in the 1967-68 season by the France-based newspaper L'Equipe to recognize the highest scorer in league matches from a European top-flight league.

Since the 1997-98, the prize has been administered by European Sports Media, which introduced a points-based points system. Under this format, a player's tallies are weighted with a designated multiplier based on the UEFA coefficient of their league.

Goals scored in Europe's five major leagues—the English Premier League, La Liga, 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 Primeira Liga, goals are worth one and a half points. Goals in all other European leagues carry one point.

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

If the tie persists, the subsequent tiebreaker is the total of league assists, followed by the least goals from the penalty spot. Only after these tiebreakers are used would the prize be shared.

Who are the Leading Contenders?

As it stands, a three-way race is underway for the 2025-26 Golden Shoe, with the three most recent winners split by just a single 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 one back on 18 goals (36 points) in 18 La Liga matches.

In fourth is RFS striker Darko Lemajic of Latvian side RFS, who has scored 28 goals (28 points) across their 36 league games in 2025.

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

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

A Look at Past Recipients

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

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

Argentine legend Lionel Messi has secured the most Golden Shoes, claiming the award on six separate times during his 17-year tenure at Barcelona.

Messi set the record for most goals in a campaign with 50 in 2011-12 (100 points). He also became the only player to ever to win it in three consecutive seasons from 2016 to 2019.

Portuguese megastar Cristiano Ronaldo first won award in the 2007-08 with Manchester United before proceeding 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 thirty-two goals for Liverpool FC.

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

Erling Haaland claimed the award for the first time in 2022-23, scoring a Premier League record thirty-six goals (72 points). Harry Kane secured his maiden Golden Shoe with the identical goal tally for Bayern Munich the following season.

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 competing at the top of the standings again this campaign, with Kane currently leading the pack.