Harry Kane Wins Men's Ballon d'Or, Ending England's 25-Year Wait
Harry Kane has won the men's Ballon d'Or, the award for the best player in the world, making him the first Englishman to take it in 25 years. The ceremony was held on Monday 26 October at the Palladium Theatre in London, and Kane finished ahead of Lamine Yamal and Kylian Mbappé in the voting.
The award is chosen by a panel of journalists, and Kane went into the night as the favourite. Sky Sports had him as odds-on to win before the result was announced.
The case for Kane rests on a busy year. He won the European Golden Boot, which goes to the leading goalscorer in Europe's domestic leagues. He played a major role in Bayern Munich's Bundesliga title, the German league championship. He also captained England to a World Cup semi-final. Across club and country, he has scored 89 goals since the start of August 2025.
Bayern paid a €100m upfront fee to sign him three years ago, and it was a move that many people doubted at the time. He has now repaid much of that faith with goals. The Guardian reports that he has scored 91 international goals in 125 appearances, and that those 125 caps equal England's all-time record.
Kane is the fifth Englishman to win the award. The last was Michael Owen in 2001, when he was a young striker with Liverpool. Owen was 21 at the time and had been a surprise winner. Kane's win ends a long gap that many England fans had started to count in years.
The women's award went to Alexia Putellas, who won it for a third time. She had already won in 2021 and 2022, and she was the only former winner on this year's shortlist. The Spanish midfielder left Barcelona in the summer and joined London City Lionesses, a club in the Women's Super League, England's top women's division. Her shortlist also included Patri Guijarro, Khadija Shaw and Temwa Chawinga.
There was an unusual moment before the announcement. The Ballon d'Or website briefly published an article titled "Harry Kane wins 2026 Ballon d'Or", which referred to a 61-goal season. USA Today reported that the article was taken down. It was not the official announcement, and the result was confirmed on the night.
For English fans, the moment is simple to name. A player from their country has been crowned the best in the world again, and a quarter of a century has passed since the last time. For everyone else, it is a reminder of how a striker who once had to prove himself at a lower level can end the year at the top of the game.
