Kane wins the European Golden Shoe, edging out Haaland and Mbappé

English striker Harry Kane said after receiving his second European Golden Shoe on Wednesday at the museum of Bayern Munich, the German football champions, that he believes “winning this award tastes even better than the first one.”

Kane added in the mixed zone: “I think winning this shoe tastes even better than the first one, given what we achieved with the team. Winning three titles—the Bundesliga, the DFB-Pokal, and the DFL-Supercup—gives the achievement a special character for the club.”

By scoring 36 goals in the Bundesliga last season, Kane surpassed Manchester City’s Norwegian striker Erling Haaland (27 goals) and Real Madrid’s French striker Kylian Mbappé (25 goals), who won the award in the previous season.

Kane had previously won the Golden Shoe in his first season with Bayern (2023-2024) after scoring 36 goals, but the Bavarian club finished the campaign without winning any trophies.

Only two players have scored more goals in a single Bundesliga season in the league’s history: Poland’s Robert Lewandowski (41 goals in 2020-2021) and Gerd Müller (40 goals in 1971-1972).

Both players won the Golden Shoe twice: Müller in 1970 and 1972, and Lewandowski in 2021 and 2022.

At the age of 32, “Prince Harry” enjoyed the best season of his career, scoring 36 goals in the Bundesliga, 14 in the UEFA Champions League, 10 in the DFB-Pokal—including a hat-trick in the final against Stuttgart—and one in the DFL-Supercup.

The captain of England’s “Three Lions” and their all-time top scorer (85 goals) also netted 12 additional goals for his national team during the 2025-2026 season, including six at the World Cup in North America, thereby becoming England’s all-time top scorer in World Cup finals (14 goals).

His total goal tally reached 73 across all competitions for his club and national team in the 2025-2026 season, just nine short of the record set by Lionel Messi (82 goals) for Barcelona and Argentina in the 2011-2012 season, which remains the benchmark.

Having won the Bundesliga, the DFB-Pokal, and the DFL-Supercup, reached the Champions League semi-finals, and finished third in the World Cup, Kane is now one of the leading contenders for the Ballon d’Or, which will be awarded in London in late October.