Kane Ends England’s 25-Year Wait with Historic Ballon d’Or Triumph

Harry Kane has been crowned the world’s best footballer, becoming the first Englishman to win the Ballon d’Or since Michael Owen in 2001 after a sensational, record-breaking season with Bayern Munich and England.

The 33-year-old England captain and Bayern Munich striker claimed the prestigious award at a glittering ceremony held for the first time in London, at the Palladium Theatre on Monday night. He finished ahead of Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappé in second and Barcelona’s teenage sensation Lamine Yamal in third. Rodri placed fourth, with Lionel Messi fifth.

Kane’s victory ends a quarter-century drought for English players and makes him only the fifth Englishman to lift the trophy, following Sir Stanley Matthews (1956), Sir Bobby Charlton (1966), Kevin Keegan (1978 and 1979) and Owen. It also marks the first Ballon d’Or for a Bayern Munich player since Karl-Heinz Rummenigge in 1981 and the first for any Bundesliga player since Matthias Sammer in 1996.

The award recognises Kane’s extraordinary 2025-26 campaign. He scored 61 goals in 51 matches for Bayern across all competitions — the most a Bayern player has ever managed in a single season — helping the club secure a domestic double of the Bundesliga title and DFB-Pokal (part of a domestic treble including the Super Cup). Including his England duties, the tally rose to an astonishing 73 goals plus eight assists in 65 appearances. He finished as the Bundesliga’s top scorer for a third consecutive season and netted 14 goals in the Champions League as Bayern reached the semi-finals.

On the international stage, Kane captained England to the World Cup semi-finals — the nation’s best finish since 1966 — scoring six goals at the tournament and overtaking Gary Lineker to become England’s all-time leading World Cup scorer. His overall international contribution during the assessment period stood at 12 goals.

Voters from 100 countries ultimately favoured Kane’s relentless excellence and consistency over Mbappé’s World Cup scoring records and Yamal’s starring role in Spain’s triumph. Kane also collected the Men’s Striker of the Year award (Gerd Müller Trophy) on the night.

An emotional Kane, receiving the golden ball on home soil, said: “Wow, wow, wow! I am almost speechless. Being here in London has made it extra special. Thank you to everyone who voted for me — I can imagine it was tough.”

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The ceremony, the 70th edition of the award organised by France Football, also saw Spain’s Alexia Putellas claim the Women’s Ballon d’Or for a third time. Other major winners included Lamine Yamal as Men’s Young Talent of the Year and Unai Simón as Men’s Goalkeeper of the Year.

Kane’s triumph cements his status among the game’s elite goalscorers and delivers long-awaited individual recognition after years of near-misses and a transformative move to Germany that finally brought him major silverware.