Harry Kane’s 73 goals for club and country, combined with Bayern Munich’s trophy-winning campaign and England’s World Cup performance, helped the striker claim the 2026 Men’s Ballon d’Or, ending a 25-year wait for an English winner.
The 33-year-old Bayern Munich forward was named the world’s best player at the 70th edition of the awards, held at the London Palladium on Monday, October 26. He finished ahead of Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappé, who came second, and Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal, who finished third.
Kane scored 73 goals in 65 appearances for Bayern and England during the 2025/26 season. Of those, 61 came in 51 appearances for Bayern, while 12 were scored for England.
His club performances were central to Bayern’s success, with the German side winning the Bundesliga, the DFB-Pokal and the Franz Beckenbauer Supercup. Kane also finished as the Bundesliga’s leading scorer for the third consecutive season and scored 14 goals in the Champions League, where Bayern reached the semi-finals. <Cite refs={["turn204555search0","turn204555search1"]}/>
On the international stage, Kane scored six goals at the 2026 FIFA World Cup as England finished third. It was the national team’s best World Cup finish since winning the tournament in 1966.
The combination of individual scoring output and team success strengthened Kane’s case for the award, which recognises performances over the season. His win also ended England’s long wait for another Ballon d’Or winner after Michael Owen claimed the honour in 2001.
Kane became only the fifth Englishman to win the award, following Sir Stanley Matthews in 1956, Sir Bobby Charlton in 1966, Kevin Keegan in 1978 and 1979, and Owen in 2001.
The victory was also a personal breakthrough for Kane, who had not previously finished higher than 10th in the Ballon d’Or rankings.
He received the Gerd Müller Trophy for Men’s Striker of the Year alongside the main award. It was his second time winning the scoring honour, having shared it with Mbappé in 2024. <Cite refs={["turn204555search0","turn204555search1"]}/>
The Ballon d’Or was established by French magazine France Football in 1956. It initially recognised the best European player before expanding to include footballers from across the world. France Football and UEFA have jointly organised the award since 2024.
The 2026 ceremony was held outside Paris for the first time, with London chosen to mark the award’s 70th anniversary and pay tribute to Matthews, its inaugural winner.
Kane’s triumph capped a season in which he combined a prolific scoring record with domestic silverware and a strong World Cup campaign, securing his first Ballon d’Or and restoring an English player to the top of the award’s rankings after a quarter-century.