Harry Kane wins Ballon d’Or 2026 | First Englishman in 25 years
Harry Kane has become the first Englishman to win the Ballon d’Or in 25 years after a record-breaking season with Bayern Munich and England earned him the game’s highest individual honour at a ceremony in London.
The 33-year-old Bayern striker was crowned the world’s best player at the London Palladium on Monday night, ending a wait that stretched back to Michael Owen’s triumph in 2001. Kane finished ahead of Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappe in second and Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal in third, completing a podium that reflected one of the tightest races in recent years.
An emotional Kane told the audience he was almost speechless.
“Being here in London has made it extra special,” he said. “Thank you to everyone who voted for me. I can imagine it was tough this year.”
Speaking later, the England captain reflected on a career built on perseverance:
“Not many people would have thought it, and maybe even I wouldn’t have thought I’d be this far. I had to go through many ups and downs, especially early in my career. I was never the person that people thought was going to be the superstar. I had to bide my time and work hard… that grounded me even when I did make it at the highest level to keep improving.”
Kane’s 2025-26 campaign was one of the most prolific in modern football. He scored 61 goals in 51 club appearances for Bayern, the highest total by any Bayern player in a single season and 19 more than any other player across Europe’s top five leagues. Including his 12 goals for England, the tally rose to 73 goals and eight assists in 65 matches. Only Lionel Messi’s 82 in 2011-12 stands higher among players from Europe’s major leagues.
Those numbers delivered a domestic double for Bayern as they retained the Bundesliga title and lifted the DFB-Pokal, with Kane finishing as the German top flight’s leading scorer for a third successive season. He also netted 14 times in the Champions League as the Bavarians reached the semi-finals. At the World Cup in North America, Kane’s six goals helped England to a third-place finish, their best since 1966.
The award makes Kane only the fifth English winner of the Ballon d’Or, following Stanley Matthews in 1956, Bobby Charlton in 1966 and Kevin Keegan in 1978 and 1979. He is the first Bayern player to claim the prize since Karl-Heinz Rummenigge in 1981. England manager Thomas Tuchel called it a “huge honour” and praised Kane as a leader, while Prince William described him as a “brilliant captain and remarkable player”. Wembley Stadium’s arches were lit gold in celebration.
Kane also collected the Gerd Müller Trophy as the outstanding striker of the year. The ceremony, held in London for the first time to mark the award’s 70th anniversary and honour inaugural winner Matthews, saw Spain dominate several other categories, with Alexia Putellas claiming a third women’s Ballon d’Or and Lamine Yamal named young talent of the year.
For a player once released by Arsenal as a youngster and who waited years for major silverware after leaving Tottenham, this was the ultimate validation. Kane has now written his name into football history on home soil, the relentless goalscorer finally recognised as the best in the world.
