Harry Kane Wins 2026 Ballon d’Or: First English Winner in 25 Years

Harry Kane has won the 2026 men’s Ballon d’Or, becoming the first Englishman in 25 years to receive football’s most prestigious individual award. The Bayern Munich and England captain was honoured at a ceremony in London on Monday after an outstanding 2025–26 campaign.

Kane defeated Real Madrid forward Kylian Mbappé, who finished second, and Barcelona star Lamine Yamal, who placed third. The 33-year-old had earlier won the men’s Striker of the Year award during the ceremony.

The England striker scored 73 goals in 65 appearances for club and country last season. His tally included 36 Bundesliga goals in 31 matches and 14 goals in 13 Champions League appearances, according to The Athletic.

Kane helped Bayern Munich retain the Bundesliga title and win the German Cup and German Super Cup. He also scored a hat-trick in the German Cup final as Bayern defeated Stuttgart 3–0, although the club was eliminated by Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League semi-finals.

At international level, Kane scored six goals as England finished third at the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico. He scored twice against the Democratic Republic of Congo in the last 16 and added a decisive goal against Mexico in the quarter-finals.

The award caps a remarkable career transformation for Kane, who developed through Tottenham Hotspur’s academy and spent loan spells at Millwall, Leicester City, Norwich City and Leyton Orient. He remains Tottenham’s leading scorer and is second on the Premier League’s all-time scoring list behind Alan Shearer.

The ceremony was briefly overshadowed by an apparent online leak. The Ballon d’Or website mistakenly published prepared profiles suggesting Kane, Mbappé and other nominees had won before the official announcement. Organisers later said the articles had been prepared for all shortlisted players and did not reflect the final rankings.

Kane’s victory makes him the first Bayern player to win the men’s award since Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and the first English winner since Michael Owen in 2001. His triumph was reported by the BBC and The Athletic, which described his season as one of the most prolific campaigns of his career.