Bayern Munich and England Striker Harry Kane has won the 2026 Ballon d’Or becoming the first English player to take the award since Michael Owen 25 years ago.
The England captain collected it at a ceremony in London, ending a long wait for the country and capping the finest season of a remarkable career. He is now a two-time Bundesliga winner, and he also helped Bayern win the DFB-Pokal in 2025/26.
His first league title arrived in 2025, when he scored 41 goals and added 14 assists in 51 appearances across all competitions. That return earned him only 13th place in the 2025 Ballon d’Or voting, and he spent the following year proving the judges wrong.
The numbers for 2025/26 tell the story. Kane scored 36 Bundesliga goals, which earned him a second European Golden Shoe, and he hit 61 goals across all competitions for Bayern. His haul helped Bayern win a domestic treble.
Read also on New Daily Prime:Golden Shoe Winner Kane eyes Ballon D’or after best season ever
Tuchel, teammates, fans hail Kane after England scape scare
Kane’s late double rescues England against spirited DR Congo
He also set a new club benchmark along the way. His 100th goal for Bayern made him the fastest player to reach a century in the club’s 126-year history.
He saved some of his best moments for the biggest nights. In Madrid, Kane slammed a low drive from just outside the box to score the winner for Bayern. The goal showed the quality that voters rewarded: a striker who scores in volume and also decides the biggest matches.
His victory also carries wider meaning for German football. Kane is the first Bundesliga player to win the award since Matthias Sammer of Borussia Dortmund in 1996. He joined Bayern from Tottenham in search of silverware and, after a year of waiting, found it in abundance.
Kane has long said that goals alone would not win him this prize. He told reporters that a player needs more than a high tally to win individual honours, and that view shaped his season. He scored heavily, dropped deep to create for teammates, and led Bayern to trophies, which gave voters the complete case they wanted.
His England teammates backed him throughout the race. Declan Rice called him the clear winner. That praise from a fellow contender for the award reflects the respect Kane commands in the dressing room.
The win also lifts a nation that has waited a quarter of a century for another Ballon d’Or winner. Owen claimed the last English award in 2001, and no Englishman has matched him since, despite strong challenges from players such as Jude Bellingham, who finished third in 2024. Kane has now closed that gap.
