Kane Breaks English Ballon d'Or Drought With Victory in London
After a nine-year wait and a chaotic ceremony delay, Harry Kane claimed the top individual soccer prize, ending a 25-year dry spell for English players.
By Jessica Abebe ·
Harry Kane stood at the rear of the London Palladium in 2017, watching Cristiano Ronaldo accept the Best FIFA Football Award. He had been on the 24-man shortlist that year but finished last. Nine years later, on Monday, he occupied the front row at the same venue, approximately nine miles from his birthplace in Leytonstone. Kane sat beside Lamine Yamal, with last year's winner Rodri seated one place away. The wait, which Kane described as "very stressful" to reporters in Munich last week, finally concluded when his name was announced for the 2026 Ballon d'Or.
The ceremony began under a cloud of confusion. Less than three hours before the start time, the official website briefly published profile pages for Kane, Kylian Mbappé, and Yamal, identifying Kane as the winner. The pages were quickly deleted, and the event was delayed by 45 minutes. No official reason was given for the postponement, though London traffic was cited as a potential factor. Rain that had affected the earlier part of the day had cleared by the time the audience took their seats.
Kane first collected the Gerd Müller Men's Award, also known as Striker of the Year. This award is determined solely by goal count rather than voting. Kane scored 73 goals in 65 matches between August 2025 and the end of the World Cup in July. This total was the highest in men's soccer for the period. The local crowd in the cheap seats reacted loudly to this initial win, a prelude to the main prize.
The Ballon d'Or is voted on by one journalist from each of FIFA's top 100 ranked nations. The voting criteria prioritize individual performances, then collective achievements and titles, and finally class and fair play. English players have won the award only five times in its history. Sir Stanley Matthews, Sir Bobby Charlton, and Kevin Keegan (twice) won it previously. Michael Owen was the last English winner in 2001. Kane had never finished higher than 10th in the voting prior to this year.
Kane's eligibility period included his tenure at Bayern Munich, where he signed for 120 million euros in 2023. Since joining the club, he has scored 158 goals in 156 matches. During the specific voting window, he won the Bundesliga, the DFB-Pokal, and the German Supercup. He also led England to a third-place finish at the FIFA World Cup, their best result in 60 years, scoring six goals in the tournament.
Kane acknowledged Tottenham Hotspur during his acceptance speech, stating, "I wouldn't be where I am without you." He later added, "I am almost speechless. Being here in London has made it extra special. It made it a good omen for me tonight." In 2019, while playing for Spurs, Kane told former manager Jose Mourinho that his aim was to become like Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. Mourinho had noted that the world often looked to other regions for football's movie stars, a dynamic Kane has now broken.
Kane's journey began in the Tottenham academy, with loan spells at Leyton Orient, Millwall, Norwich City, and Leicester City. He broke into the first team in the 2013-14 season and was named PFA Young Player of the Year in 2015. He scored 280 goals in 435 appearances for Tottenham and holds the all-time goal-scoring record for England. He is scheduled to break Peter Shilton's appearance record of 125 caps next month, barring injury.
Lamine Yamal received the Young Talent of the Year award for the third consecutive night. The ceremony concluded with Kane joining the elite he had once watched from the back of the room.
