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The contest for the Golden Boot trophy is heating up as the current season nears its mid-season juncture.

With a different winner in every one of the previous three campaigns, the prize remains wide open. Premier League star Erling Haaland was the most recent Premier League-based player to win the trophy back in 2022-23.

The prolific Norwegian striker is back in the running this term, but faces tough competition from German Bundesliga forward Harry Kane and Real Madrid superstar Kylian Mbappe. With many matches left to play, other talents still have an opportunity to enter the contest.

What is the Golden Shoe?

The Golden Boot award was introduced in the 1967-68 season by the French newspaper L'Equipe to recognize the highest scorer in league matches from a European top division league.

Since the 1997-98, the prize has been overseen by European Sports Media, which implemented a points-based scoring system. Under this method, a player's tallies are multiplied by a designated multiplier based on the strength ranking of their domestic competition.

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

For leagues ranked sixth to 22nd in UEFA rankings, 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 jointly won on multiple instances in the past, a rule change from the 2019-20 season dictates that in the case of a points tie, the trophy goes to the player with the fewest minutes played.

If the deadlock remains, the subsequent deciding factor is the number of assists, followed by the fewest goals from the penalty spot. Only if these tiebreakers are exhausted would the award be split.

Who are the Main Challengers?

As it stands, a three-way battle exists for the current season's Golden Shoe, with the three previous winners split by just a single 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 appearances.
• 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 the club's 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 top 10 is made up of players from leagues that function on a January-to-December schedule.

Reviewing Previous Recipients

Throughout its nearly six-decade history, the Golden Shoe has been awarded to some of football's most iconic legends.

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

Argentine legend Lionel Messi has won the record number of Golden Shoes, claiming the honor on six separate times during his long spell at FC Barcelona.

Messi established the benchmark for most goals 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 consecutive seasons from 2016-17 to 2018-19.

Portuguese megastar Cristiano Ronaldo first won award in the 2007-08 season with Manchester United before proceeding to win it on three further occasions with Real Madrid.

The inaugural 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 FC.

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

Erling Haaland won the award for the first time in 2022-23, scoring a Premier League record 36 goals (72 points). Harry Kane earned his first Golden Shoe with the identical total for Bayern Munich the following season.

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

Now, the very three players are competing at the top of the standings again this campaign, with Kane presently leading the way.