The European Golden Shoe, also known as the European Golden Boot, is an award that is presented each season to the player with the most points in matches of the top divisions of European national association football leagues. The trophy is a sculpture of a football boot. The award, originally called Soulier d'Or, French for Golden Shoe, was launched in the 1967–68 season, and was given to the top goalscorer in all European leagues during a season. Since 1997, it has been calculated using a weighting in favour of the highest ranked leagues. Originally presented by L'Équipe newspaper, it has been awarded by the European Sports Media since the 1996–97 season. Lionel Messi has won the award a record six times, more than any other player in history.

History Between 1968 and 1991, the award was given to the highest goalscorer in any European league. This was regardless of the strength of the league and the number of games in which the player had taken part. During this period Eusébio, Gerd Müller, Dudu Georgescu and Fernando Gomes each won the Golden Shoe twice.

Following a protest from the Cyprus FA, which claimed that a Cypriot player with 40 goals should have received the award (though the official top scorers for the season are both listed with 19 goals), L'Équipe issued no awards between 1991 and 1996.

Since the 1996–97 season, European Sports Media have awarded the Golden Shoe based on a points system that allows players in stronger leagues to win even if they score fewer goals than a player in a weaker league. The weightings are determined by the league's ranking on the UEFA coefficients, which in turn depend on the results of each league's clubs in European competition over the previous five seasons. Goals scored in the top five leagues according to the UEFA coefficients list are multiplied by two, goals scored in the leagues ranked 6 to 22 (previously 9 to 21) are multiplied by 1.5, and goals scored in leagues ranked 22 and below are multiplied by 1. Thus, goals scored in higher-ranked leagues count for more than those scored in weaker leagues. Since this change, there have only been two winners who were not playing in one of the top five leagues (Henrik Larsson, 2000–01 Scottish Premier League and Mario Jardel, 1998–99 Primeira Divisão and 2001–02 Primeira Liga).

Although the Golden Shoe could be shared among multiple players in the past, in the 2019–20 season this rule was changed to give the award to the player with the least minutes played, should there be a tie on points. If tie persists, number of league assists and, then, the fewer penalties scored, would be counted. If the tie ultimately persists, the award would be shared.

Winners Player Denotes the number of times the player had won the award at that time (for players with more than one award) Denotes player's club won league that seasonPlayer also top goalscorer in all European leagues (since 1996–97)

+European Golden Shoe winnersSeasonPlayerClubLeagueGoalsPoints Winners awarded by L'Équipe (1968–1991)1967–68 Eusébio Benfica 1968–69 Petar ZhekovCSKA Sofia Parva Liga1969–70 Bayern Munich Bundesliga1970–71 Marseille Ligue 11971–72 Bayern Munich Bundesliga1972–73 Eusébio Benfica Primeira Liga1973–74 Sporting CP Primeira Liga1974–75 Dinamo București Liga I1975–76 Omonia Nicosia Cypriot First Division1976–77 Dinamo București Liga I1977–78 Rapid Wien Austrian Bundesliga1978–79 AZ Eredivisie1979–80 Lierse Belgian First Division1980–81 Botev Plovdiv Parva Liga1981–82 Ajax Eredivisie1982–83 Porto Primeira Liga1983–84 Liverpool First Division1984–85 Porto Primeira Liga1985–86 Ajax Eredivisie1986–87 Toni PolsterAustria Wien Austrian Bundesliga1987–88 Galatasaray Süper Lig1988–89 Dinamo București Liga I1989–90 CSKA Sofia A PFG Real Madrid La Liga1990–91 Red Star Belgrade Yugoslav First League1992–1996Not awarded Winners awarded by European Sports Media (1997–present)1996–97 RonaldoBarcelona La Liga1997–98 Vitesse Eredivisie1998–99 Porto Primeira Liga Sunderland Premier League2000–01 Celtic Scottish Premier League2001–02 Sporting CP Primeira Liga2002–03 La Liga2003–04 Arsenal Premier League2004–05 Arsenal Premier League Villarreal La Liga2005–06 Fiorentina Serie A2006–07 Roma Serie A2007–08 Manchester United Premier League2008–09 Atlético Madrid La Liga2009–10 Barcelona La Liga2010–11Real Madrid La Liga2011–12 Barcelona La Liga2012–13 Barcelona La Liga2013–14 Liverpool Premier League Real Madrid La Liga2014–15 Real Madrid La Liga2015–16 Barcelona La Liga2016–17 Barcelona La Liga2017–18 Barcelona La Liga2018–19 Barcelona La Liga2019–20 Lazio Serie A2020–21 Bayern Munich Bundesliga2021–22 Bayern Munich Bundesliga2022–23 Manchester City Premier League2023–24 Bayern Munich Bundesliga2024–25 Real Madrid La Liga2025–26 Bayern Munich Bundesliga Notes

Multiple winners

Lionel Messi is the only player to win the award six times, all with Barcelona. He also holds the all-time record for goals in a single season with 50 in 2011–12, which accumulated to a record 100 points. Bayern Munich's Gerd Müller was the first player to win the award twice, in 1969–70 and 1971–72. Messi was the first player to win the award three times. Cristiano Ronaldo was the first player to win the award four times. Messi was the first and so far only player to win it five and six times. Only Messi (2016–17, 2017–18 and 2018–19) has won the award in three consecutive seasons. Thierry Henry (2003–04 and 2004–05), Messi (2011–12 and 2012–13; 2016–17, 2017–18 and 2018–19), Cristiano Ronaldo (2013–14 and 2014–15) and Robert Lewandowski (2020–21 and 2021–22) have won the award in consecutive seasons. Diego Forlán (Villarreal and Atlético Madrid), Luis Suárez (Liverpool and Barcelona), Mário Jardel (Porto and Sporting CP) and Ronaldo (Manchester United and Real Madrid) are the only players to have won the award with multiple clubs. Ronaldo and Suárez are the only players to win the award in two different leagues, with each having won the award while playing in both the Premier League and La Liga.

Players that are still active in Europe are highlighted in boldface. Players that are still active outside of Europe are highlighted in italics.

+ Multiple European Golden Shoe winners Player Wins Seasons 642007–08, 2010–11, 2013–14 (Shared), 2014–15 Eusébio21967–68, 1972–73 1969–70, 1971–72 1974–75, 1976–77 1982–83, 1984–85 1998–99, 2001–02 2003–04, 2004–05 (Shared) 2004–05 (Shared), 2008–09 2013–14 (Shared), 2015–16 2020–21, 2021–22 2023–24, 2025–26

Winners by club +European Golden Shoe winners by clubClubTotalPlayers Barcelona83 Bayern Munich 6 3 Real Madrid 5 3 Dinamo București 3 2 Porto 3 2 CSKA Sofia 2 2 Liverpool 2 2 Ajax 2 2 Sporting CP 2 2 Arsenal 2 1 Benfica 2 1 Austria Wien 1 1 Rapid Wien 1 1 Lierse 1 1 Botev Plovdiv 1 1 Omonia Nicosia 1 1 Manchester City 1 1 Manchester United 1 1 Sunderland 1 1 Marseille 1 1 Fiorentina 1 1 Lazio 1 1 Roma 1 1 AZ 1 1 Vitesse 1 1 Celtic 1 1 Atlético Madrid 1 1 Deportivo La Coruña 1 1 Villarreal 1 1 Galatasaray 1 1 Red Star Belgrade 1 1

Winners by nationality + NationalityTotalPlayers83 7 2 4 4 4 2 3 3 3 3 3 2 3 2 3 2 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

Winners by league

+European Golden Shoe winners by leagueLeagueTotalPlayers La Liga168 Premier League 7 6 Primeira Liga 7 4 Bundesliga 6 3 Eredivisie 4 4 Serie A 3 3 Parva Liga 3 3 Liga I 3 2 Austrian Bundesliga 2 2 Ligue 1 1 1 Cypriot First Division 1 1 Belgian Pro League 1 1 Scottish Premier Division 1 1 Süper Lig 1 1 Yugoslav First League 1 1

2025–26 season standings

+ 2026 European Golden Shoe rankings Rank Player Club(s) League(s) Goals Minutes Factor Points 1 Harry Kane Bayern Munich 36 2,382 2 72 2 Erling Haaland Manchester City 27 2,959 2 54 3 Kylian Mbappé Real Madrid 25 2,606 2 50 4 Dion Drena Beljo Dinamo Zagreb 31 2,617 1.5 46.5 5 Vedat Muriqi Mallorca 23 3,137 2 46 6 Igor Thiago Brentford 22 3,287 2 44 7 Luis Suárez Sporting CP 28 2,699 1.5 42 8 Esteban Lepaul Angers/Rennes 21 2,705 2 42 9 Deniz Undav VfB Stuttgart 19 2,249 2 38 10 Ryan Mmaee Omonia 25 2,276 1.5 37.5

Notes

See also Gerd Müller Trophy European association football club records and statistics § Most goals in a season in all club competitions

References

External links

Official website – European Golden Shoe List of winners since 1980–81 ESM Golden Shoe at WorldSoccer.com