Harry Kane claimed the 2026 Men’s Ballon d’Or after a 73-goal season.
Harry Kane claims football’s top individual honour after scoring 73 goals for Bayern Munich and England during the 2025/26 season.
The Kane Ballon d’Or win has ended England’s 25-year wait for a winner of the men’s award. Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane claimed the 2026 honour after scoring 73 goals for club and country.
The 33-year-old took the top prize at the London Palladium on Monday, October 26. Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappé finished second, while Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal took third place.
Kane combined his scoring record with three domestic trophies at Bayern and a third-place World Cup finish with England. He succeeds Michael Owen, who won in 2001, as the latest English recipient.
Kane Ballon d’Or win follows prolific season
Across the 2025/26 season, Kane scored 73 times in 65 appearances for Bayern and England. His club total reached 61 goals in 51 matches, while he added another 12 for his country.
Those performances helped Bayern win the Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal and Franz Beckenbauer Supercup. Kane also led the Bundesliga scoring charts for a third consecutive season.
Meanwhile, he scored 14 Champions League goals as Bayern reached the semi-finals. His contribution across competitions strengthened a campaign that combined individual achievement with domestic team success.
On the international stage, Kane scored six goals at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. England finished third, securing their best placing since winning the tournament in 1966.
A breakthrough among England’s winners
Kane became the fifth Englishman to claim the Ballon d’Or, joining a list spanning seven decades. Before this victory, however, he had never finished higher than 10th in the rankings.
Sir Stanley Matthews won the inaugural award in 1956, followed by Sir Bobby Charlton in 1966. Kevin Keegan then claimed consecutive awards in 1978 and 1979, before Owen’s success in 2001.
Kane also received the Gerd Müller Trophy for Men’s Striker of the Year. This marked his second scoring honour, after he shared the prize with Mbappé in 2024.
London hosts landmark ceremony
The 70th edition took the ceremony outside Paris for the first time. London hosted the event to mark the award’s 70th anniversary and honour Matthews as its first winner.
Established in 1956, the Ballon d’Or initially recognised Europe’s best player before expanding its global reach. France Football and UEFA have jointly organised the awards since 2024.
