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The competition for the Golden Boot trophy is intensifying as the current season passes its halfway mark.

With a new winner in every one of the last three campaigns, the prize remains up for grabs. Manchester City star Erling Haaland was the most recent Premier League-based forward to secure the trophy back in 2022-23.

The prolific Norwegian goal-scorer is back in the hunt this season, but faces stiff competition from Bayern Munich marksman Harry Kane and Spanish La Liga phenomenon Kylian Mbappe. With many matches left to play, other talents still have time to enter the fray.

Understanding the Golden Shoe?

The European Golden Shoe was introduced in the 1967-68 by the French newspaper L'Equipe to recognize the top goalscorer in domestic league matches from a European top-flight league.

Since the 1997-98 season, the award has been overseen by European Sports Media, which introduced a weighted points system. Under this method, a player's goals are weighted with a specific multiplier based on the strength ranking of their domestic competition.

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

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

While the honor has been shared on several instances in the past, a rule change 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 next deciding factor is the number of assists, followed by the least penalties scored. Only if these criteria are exhausted would the prize be shared.

Who are the Main Contenders?

At present, a three-way tussle is underway for the current season's Golden Shoe, with the trio of most recent 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 appearances.
• Kylian Mbappe sits just behind 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 their 36 league games in 2025.

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

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

A Look at Previous Recipients

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

Portuguese legend Eusebio won the first-ever 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 won the record number of Golden Shoes, collecting the honor on six separate times during his long tenure at FC Barcelona.

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

Portuguese megastar Cristiano Ronaldo first won 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 English club was Liverpool's Ian Rush in 1983-84, when he scored 32 goals for Liverpool.

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

Erling Haaland won 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 total for Bayern Munich the following season.

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

Now, the same three players are vying at the top of the standings once more this campaign, with Kane currently leading the way.