What is the Golden Boot?
The Golden Boot is the award given at the end of each Premier League season to the player who has scored the most goals. It is one of the most prestigious individual awards in football.
Haaland Wins Again
Erling Haaland (Manchester City) won his third Premier League Golden Boot in four seasons in 2025/26, finishing the campaign with 27 goals. His nearest rival was Igor Thiago of Brentford with 22, followed by Antoine Semenyo (who spent the first half of the season at Bournemouth, moved to City in January) with 17.
Three Golden Boots in four seasons is extraordinary. For context, the record total in a single Premier League season is 34 goals — held by Haaland himself, set in 2022/23. He has been the most reliable goalscorer in the league’s history almost every season he has played in it.
Who Is Haaland?
Erling Haaland is 25 years old, Norwegian, and the most purely prolific striker English football has ever seen. He is 6ft 4in, built like a tank, faster than almost anyone on the pitch, and has a finishing technique that is almost robotic in its precision.
His father, Alf-Inge Haaland, played in the Premier League for Nottingham Forest, Leeds and Manchester City. Erling grew up watching English football. After tearing apart the Bundesliga at Borussia Dortmund, he joined City in 2022 and has scored goals at a rate that makes serious analysts genuinely question whether they are watching something unprecedented.
Is He Going to the World Cup?
Haaland is at the World Cup — playing for Norway in Group I alongside France, Senegal and one other team. Norway have never won a World Cup or made a particularly deep run, but with Haaland, they are nobody’s idea of an easy opponent.
France are the main rivals in the group. A Norway vs France game with Haaland vs Mbappe will be one of the most watched matches of the tournament. England could theoretically face Norway in the knockout rounds — which means facing Haaland in the World Cup. A thought that does not need dwelling on for too long.
