Race for the European Golden Shoe: Haaland, Mbappé and Kane

The Soulier d’Or, or Golden Shoe, was an honour created by French sports magazine L’Équipe in 1968. It recognises the leading scorer in league football in Europe. The winner claims the European Golden Shoe, sometimes called the European Golden Boot. Over the years, it has been won by many of the greatest footballers of all time.

Lionel Messi has the most wins, and he has claimed the prize six times. Cristiano Ronaldo won it four times. Eusébio, Gerd Müller, Thierry Henry, and Robert Lewandowski are among the legendary footballers to have won the Golden Shoe more than once.

Since 1997, a weighting system has been used. This means that goals in the top European leagues earn two points. Mid-level competitions, such as the Dutch and Danish top tiers, earn 1.5 points per goal. Goals in leagues ranked 22nd and lower by the UEFA coefficient, such as Serbia or Slovakia, are worth one point each.

2025/26 Race Promises Exciting Three-Way Battle

As things stand, we have a tight battle for the 2025/26 European Golden Shoe. There is little to separate Kylian Mbappé, Harry Kane, and Erling Haaland. Adding extra intrigue to the race is the fact that those three men have won the last three Golden Shoes. Mbappé is the current holder, while Kane triumphed in 2023/24 and Haaland delivered the goods in his debut season with Man City the year before that.

It is still possible that someone beyond those three big names might win. However, even at this early stage of the campaign, that vaunted trio is already some way out in front. They are setting a blistering pace that nobody else seems likely to maintain. This means that we are likely to see one of them join the relatively short list of footballers to have won this prize more than once.

To date, only 11 players have won the European Golden Shoe on two or more occasions. Will it be Mbappé, Haaland or Kane who becomes number 12? Alternatively, might we see a surprise late surge from someone else that upsets the odds?

Golden Shoe 2025/26: Current Standings

The current top six can be seen below, with Marseille’s Mason Greenwood some way back in seventh. The former Man United man has 14 points courtesy of seven goals. Atletico Madrid’s Julián Álvarez also boasts 14 points. Note that the table below excludes players from various leagues that have completed most of their season’s matches. For example, Serbian striker Darko Lemajić officially has 28 points. He has netted 28 goals in 30 games for RFS in the Latvian Virsliga. However, his eventual tally will not go close to that required to challenge Europe’s finest.

So, as things stand, it is Haaland who is set for glory. He leads Mbappé by virtue of the fact that he has played around 100 fewer minutes of football. In the event of a tie, this is the first tiebreaker mechanism, and we can’t rule out a tie this year.

Haaland and Mbappé Net Doubles as Kane Draws a Blank

England captain Kane had led the way. However, in the latest round of matches, he drew a blank. His two rivals cashed in as both netted doubles. Bayern beat Leverkusen 3-0 at the start of November. However, Kane was rested, starting on the bench. Although he played the last 31 minutes, he was unable to find the back of the net.

Haaland scored his side’s first two goals against Bournemouth in the Premier League, helping City to a 3-1 home win. Mbappé also got Madrid’s first two, the opener coming from the spot. They eased to a 4-0 victory over Valencia.

All three will play in the Champions League in midweek. However, goals in that competition do not count towards the Golden Shoe, with only league strikes relevant.

The Trio Have Made a Sensational Start

These three players are undoubtedly the best goal scorers in the world at the moment. Mohamed Salah, Robert Lewandowski, and one or two others might question that assertion. However, the stats paint a clear picture.

Haaland has netted 13 goals in just 10 Premier League appearances. He has been on the pitch for just 858 minutes, and if he stays fit, he will be hard to stop. Mbappé’s 13 strikes for Real have come from 11 games and 960 minutes. As for Kane, he has played just 705 minutes of league football for Bayern, spread across nine games.

However, as deadly as the Englishman is, Kane has an obvious disadvantage compared to his two rivals. There are just 18 teams in the Bundesliga, while there are 20 in both the Premier League and La Liga. That means Mbappé and Haaland potentially have four more games than Kane.

Of course, that did not stop the former Spurs man in 2023/24. Moreover, many would say that it is easier for Kane to score given Bayern’s dominance in Germany and the greater strength in depth of the other two leagues.

How Many Goals Will it Take to Win?

Realistically, we cannot see anyone challenging the leading trio. Therefore, we can ignore points and consider the 2025/26 European Golden Shoe as a level playing field and a straight shootout on goals.

Since the current weighting system was used in 1997, the winner has had at least 50 points. That equates to 25 goals for any of the three players in question. Messi recorded the highest winning tally. The mesmeric Argentine netted 50 league goals for Barca in 2011/12, registering 100 points. In 2014/15, Ronaldo got 96 points, but over the decade since then, more than 74 points have been needed just twice.

Mbappé won with “just” 31 goals and 62 points last year. However, in seven of the last 10 years, the winner has netted between 68 and 74 points.

Who Will Win?

This year, we suspect the victor may need 80 points or more. Haaland, Mbappé, and Kane are all looking so good, and we believe they will push each other on to even greater things. Calling the winner is impossible at this stage, with so little to choose between them. If pushed, we’d err towards Mbappé, but much will depend on who stays fit. It promises to be a brilliant battle, and right now all three look capable of scoring 40+ goals, an astonishing feat.