Golden Shoe Race 2025: Who’s Ahead in the European Scoring Rankings?

The battle for the European Golden Shoe is beginning to intensify as the 2025-26 campaign moves toward its midpoint.

Recent history suggests there’s no clear favorite, with the award claimed by a different winner in each of the last three seasons. The most recent Premier League player to lift the trophy was Manchester City’s Erling Haaland in 2022-23, and the Norwegian marksman is once again among the frontrunners.

However, Haaland is far from alone. Bayern Munich’s Harry Kane and Real Madrid forward Kylian Mbappé are both firmly in the mix, while a busy second half of the season leaves ample opportunity for other prolific scorers to surge into contention before the final standings are decided.

What Is the European Golden Shoe?

The European Golden Shoe, also known as the Golden Boot, was first introduced in the 1967-68 season by French newspaper L'Equipe to honor the leading goalscorer in top-division league matches across Europe. Since the 1997-98 season, European Sports Media has administered the award, using a points-based system that weighs goals according to the UEFA coefficient of the league in which the player competes.

Goals scored in Europe’s top five leagues —Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, Serie A, and Ligue 1—are worth two points each. For leagues ranked sixth to 22nd, such as Portugal’s Primeira Liga, goals count for 1.5 points, while lower-ranked leagues award just one point per goal.

In the event of a tie on points, the 2019-20 rule changes specify that the player with the fewest minutes played wins. If a tie remains, league assists are considered, followed by penalty goals, with a shared award only if all tiebreakers are equal.

Current Contenders for 2025-26

The 2025-26 Golden Shoe race is tightly contested. Harry Kane, England captain and Bayern Munich striker, currently leads with 19 goals (38 points) from 15 Bundesliga matches. Manchester City’s Erling Haaland matches Kane’s total points with 19 goals (38 points) across 17 Premier League games. Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappé sits just behind with 18 goals (36 points) in 18 La Liga appearances.

Other notable performers include Darko Lemajic of Latvian side RFS, who has scored 28 goals (28 points) in 36 league matches, and Feyenoord’s Ayase Ueda, with 18 goals (27 points) from 17 Eredivisie games. The remainder of the top 10 features players from leagues following a calendar-year schedule.

This season’s competition is shaping up to be one of the closest in recent years, with just a single goal separating the top three contenders and plenty of fixtures left to determine the ultimate winner.

Here’s a clear table summarizing the top Golden Shoe contenders for the 2025-26 season:

Player	Club	League	Goals	Points	Games Played
Harry Kane	Bayern Munich	Bundesliga	19	38	15
Erling Haaland	Manchester City	Premier League	19	38	17
Kylian Mbappé	Real Madrid	La Liga	18	36	18
Darko Lemajic	RFS	Latvian Higher League	28	28	36
Ayase Ueda	Feyenoord	Eredivisie	18	27	17

This table helps readers quickly compare goals, points, and games played, giving a snapshot of who is leading the race for the 2025-26 European Golden Shoe.

The European Golden Shoe has been claimed by some of football’s all-time greats over its 59-year history.

Portuguese icon Eusebio was the first recipient in 1968, netting 42 goals for Benfica, and he won it again in the 1972-73 season. Argentina’s Lionel Messi holds the record for the most Golden Shoes, earning the award six times during his 17-year tenure at Barcelona. Messi also set the single-season goalscoring record with 50 goals in 2011-12 (100 points) and remains the only player to win the trophy in three consecutive seasons from 2016 to 2019.

Cristiano Ronaldo won his first Golden Shoe with Manchester United in 2007-08 and added three more during his Real Madrid career. The first English club player to win the award was Liverpool’s Ian Rush in 1983-84, scoring 32 goals.

In recent years, the award has been shared by different players each season. Erling Haaland claimed his first Golden Shoe in 2022-23 with a Premier League record of 36 goals (72 points), followed by Harry Kane, who earned his inaugural Golden Shoe with the same total for Bayern Munich the next season. Kylian Mbappé is the reigning champion, scoring 31 goals (62 points) for Real Madrid in 2024-25.

This season, the trio of Kane, Haaland, and Mbappé are once again at the top of the leaderboard, with Kane currently holding a slight advantage.

Golden Shoe Legends Table

Player	Total Golden Shoes	Clubs	Notable Records
Lionel Messi	6	Barcelona	Most goals in a single season (50 in 2011-12), only player to win three consecutive seasons (2016–2019)
Cristiano Ronaldo	4	Manchester United, Real Madrid	First English club winner, prolific scorer across Premier League & La Liga
Erling Haaland	2	Manchester City	First Premier League player to win in 2022-23, 36 goals (72 points)
Harry Kane	2	Bayern Munich	First Golden Shoe in 2023-24, competing again in 2025-26
Kylian Mbappé	2	Real Madrid	Current holder (2024-25), scoring 31 goals (62 points)

This table highlights some of the most prolific scorers in European football history and shows why these players are consistently at the top of Golden Shoe standings.

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