Kane Wins Ballon d’Or, Ends England’s 25-year Wait for Award

Harry Kane has become the first English footballer to win the Ballon d’Or since Michael Owen in 2001 after being crowned the world’s best player at a ceremony in London on Monday night.

The 33-year-old Bayern Munich striker is the fifth Englishman to win the prestigious individual award, joining Stanley Matthews, who claimed the inaugural prize in 1956, Bobby Charlton in 1966, and Kevin Keegan, who won it in 1978 and 1979.

Scotland’s Denis Law won the award in 1964, while Northern Ireland’s George Best received the honour in 1968.

Real Madrid and France forward Kylian Mbappe finished second in the voting, with Barcelona and Spain teenager Lamine Yamal placing third.

Reflecting on his journey to the top, Kane admitted that he had not always been viewed as a future global superstar, saying his success was built on patience, hard work and self-belief.

“Not many people would have thought it, and maybe even I wouldn’t have thought I’d be this far,” Kane told DAZN.

“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 like some of the guys now.

“I had to bide my time and work hard, a lot of times it was me against my own mind and I had to come through it, I had to show self-belief, determination.

“I think that grounded me even when I did make it at the highest level to keep improving and keep getting better.”

England manager Thomas Tuchel was delighted to see Kane receive the award, describing the achievement as a huge honour, while Prince William praised the former Tottenham Hotspur forward as a “brilliant captain” and “remarkable player”.

Kane’s triumph followed a remarkable 2025-26 campaign in which he scored 61 goals in 51 appearances for Bayern across all competitions, the highest single-season tally by a player in the club’s history.

Including his England appearances, his total rose to 73 goals and eight assists in 65 matches.

His club form helped Bayern win the Bundesliga and German Cup, while he also finished as the Bundesliga’s leading scorer with 36 goals, 17 more than any other player.

Kane scored 14 goals in the Champions League, despite Bayern’s elimination in the semi-finals, and added 10 goals in the German Cup, including a hat-trick in the 3-0 final victory over Stuttgart. He also scored once in the German Super Cup.

His 61 goals for Bayern were 19 more than any other player in Europe’s top five leagues managed during the campaign, matching Cristiano Ronaldo’s tally for Real Madrid in 2014-15 and equalling the Portuguese forward’s 61-goal return from 11 years earlier.

Kane’s 12 goals for England, including six at the World Cup, brought his combined tally to 73 for club and country.

Only Lionel Messi’s 82 goals for Barcelona and Argentina in the 2011-12 season surpassed that total among players from Europe’s top leagues. Gerd Muller scored 72 in the 1972-73 campaign, while Ronaldo recorded 66 in both 2011-12 and 2014-15. Former Brazil striker Ronaldo also scored 66 in 1996-97, while Erling Haaland and Luis Suarez each managed 64 in their respective standout seasons.

Despite his outstanding individual numbers, Kane won the Ballon d’Or without claiming either of football’s two biggest international and continental trophies, having lost in the World Cup and Champions League semi-finals.

However, his Bundesliga and German Cup successes more than doubled his career trophy total, following his Bundesliga triumph the previous season.

The award also makes Kane the first Bayern Munich player to win the Ballon d’Or since Karl-Heinz Rummenigge in 1981.

To celebrate his achievement, the Wembley arches were illuminated in gold on Monday night.

Former England striker Alan Shearer had backed Kane to win the award, praising his consistency for club and country.

“The winner of the Ballon d’Or should be Harry Kane.

“His numbers for the last 12 to 18 months have been absolutely sensational for Bayern and for England. For that reason, he should get it,” Shearer told BBC Sport.

Former England international Danny Murphy also praised Kane’s scoring record and adaptation to life in Germany.

“His goalscoring has been relentless, brilliant. He’s had one of the best seasons of his career and it’ll be a great reward for him if he gets the trophy.

“He’s been brilliant at Bayern Munich since he’s been there, adapted really well and he’s been the best centre forward in the world for the last 12 months.”

Kane’s victory ends England’s 25-year wait for the Ballon d’Or and rewards a season in which his goalscoring exploits placed him among the most prolific players in European football history.