Last week, Kylian Mbappé was officially awarded the European Golden Shoe, which he had already secured months earlier as the top goal scorer in Europe’s elite leagues during the 2024-25 season.
Despite having claimed the award back in May, the French striker received the trophy at Real Madrid’s LaLiga match against Valencia over the weekend.
In the previous campaign, Mbappé netted 31 goals, placing him among an illustrious list of past European Golden Shoe winners. He also became just the third player from Los Blancos to earn this honor, following in the footsteps of legends Hugo Sánchez and Cristiano Ronaldo, the latter of whom won it four times (three with Madrid and once with Manchester United).
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Since the Golden Shoe’s inception in the 1967-68 season, it has recognized numerous elite goal scorers, beginning with Eusébio, followed by notable players like Gerd Müller, Marco van Basten, and more recently, Lionel Messi, Luis Suárez, Robert Lewandowski, and Harry Kane, who won the accolade in the 2023-24 season.
Notably, the current leader for the 2025-26 Golden Shoe isn’t Mbappé or Erling Haaland, but a lesser-known striker named Darko Lemajic, who plays for Rigas Futbola Skola in Latvia, where he has gained a narrow lead over his competitors.
The 32-year-old currently tops the 2025-26 European Golden Boot race with 28 goals, but it’s important to note that the Latvian Virsliga operates primarily as a summer league, running from March to November. Consequently, Lemajic has had 35 league matches to achieve this impressive total, while the likes of Haaland and Mbappé have only played around 10 games in their respective domestic seasons.
Understanding the European Golden Shoe Award
The calculation for the European Golden Shoe leaderboard takes into account not just the quantity of goals scored, but also employs a weighted points system established in 1997. This system uses multipliers based on league competitiveness, as determined by UEFA’s coefficient rankings.
Goals scored in one of Europe’s “top five” leagues are considered more challenging and thus multiplied by a factor of two for point calculation. Goals from leagues ranked 6-22 are multiplied by 1.5, while lower leagues have a multiplier of 1.
This means that Lemajic’s 28 goals in the Virsliga are counted as 28 points, while Haaland and Mbappé, with 13 goals each, earn 26 points due to the higher multiplier. As a result, Lemajic leads despite lower raw goal numbers from top players.
This system contributes to a significant presence of players from Scandinavian leagues in the top 10, as they also follow a summer league schedule, allowing for an extended tally before winter.
Lemajic still has one league game left this season, so he may further increase his total before the Latvian season ends.
Here is the current top 10 ranking:
10. Harry Kane, Bayern Munich (12 goals, 24 points)
Kane continues his stellar performance from last season with 12 goals in just nine Bundesliga matches, ensuring he climbs the 2025-26 European Golden Shoe leaderboard in the coming weeks. The England captain is positioned well to reclaim the award from Mbappé by season’s end.
9. Nahir Besara, Hammarby IF (17 goals, 25.5 points)
Besara has helped Hammarby secure second place in the Swedish Allsvenskan with one match remaining. Despite his goal-scoring prowess, the 34-year-old couldn’t push his team past the surprise champions Mjällby AIF, who claimed the title in an impressive fashion.
8. Ibrahim Diabate, GAIS (17 goals, 25.5 points)
Diabate shares the top spot in the Allsvenskan with 17 goals, helping GAIS secure third place and qualify for the UEFA Conference League qualifying rounds.
7. August Priske, Djurgården (17 goals, 25.5 points)
Priske rounds out the Allsvenskan Golden Boot race with 17 goals, further establishing his talent as a Danish under-20 international.
6. Kasper Høgh, Bodo/Glimt (17 goals, 25.5 points)
In the Norwegian Eliteserien, Høgh is among the top scorers with 17 goals and a handful of matches still to play. His team is currently just a point behind league leaders Viking FK as the season approaches its conclusion.
5. Daniel Karlsbakk, Sarpsborg FK (17 goals, 25.5 points)
Karlsbakk is also level with Høgh in the Eliteserien scoring charts, although Sarpsborg’s campaign has been less thrilling, sitting in ninth place with four matches left.
4. Klaemint Olsen, NSI Runavik (26 goals, 26 points)
Olsen was instrumental in Runavik’s third-place finish in the Faroe Islands Premier League, boasting 26 goals, despite finishing 13 points behind champions KI Klaksvik.
3. Kylian Mbappé, Real Madrid (13 goals, 26 points)
Mbappé has made an early statement in his defense of the European Golden Shoe, netting 13 goals in just 11 matches and remains a strong contender in the LaLiga scoring race.
2. Erling Haaland, Manchester City (13 goals, 26 points)
Haaland continues to showcase his exceptional talents this season, scoring 11 goals in 13 Premier League matches. He is close to breaking Alan Shearer’s record as the fastest player to reach 100 Premier League goals.
1. Darko Lemajic, Rigas Futbola Skola (28 goals, 28 points)
Standing tall at 6-foot-6, Lemajic has made his mark in the Latvian league with an impressive 28 goals, significantly outperforming his nearest rival, Ingars Pulis, who finished second with 16 goals, as Rigas Futbola Skola finished as the runners-up for the season.