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Harry Kane has won the 2026 Ballon d'Or, becoming the first Englishman to claim football's most prestigious individual prize in 25 years.
The Bayern Munich striker was named the winner at a ceremony in London on Monday, October 26, succeeding Ousmane Dembele as France Football's world player of the year. The event marked 70 years since Sir Stanley Matthews won the inaugural award.
Kane beat Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe and Barcelona's Lamine Yamal to the award after a record-breaking season for club and country.
The England captain's triumph was built on exceptional goalscoring and collective success, the two main criteria for the award. He finished as the Bundesliga's leading scorer with 36 goals in 31 appearances and was the second-highest scorer in the Champions League with 14 goals in 13 matches.
According to The Independent's Power Rankings, Kane scored 61 goals in 51 appearances across all competitions during the 2025/26 campaign, helping Bayern Munich secure a domestic league and cup double.
His form extended to the international stage. He scored six times at the 2026 World Cup as England finished third, their best finish since winning the tournament in 1966.
Lamine Yamal's claim was strengthened by winning the World Cup with Spain at age 19 and La Liga with Barcelona, but voters ultimately favoured Kane's sheer volume. Since the beginning of the century, only Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have won the Ballon d'Or in a World Cup year without reaching at least the final, a statistic that highlighted Yamal's strong case.
Kane also claimed the Gerd Müller Trophy for the top scorer of the year. Kane finished the year with 73 goals across all competitions.
Kane became only the fifth Englishman to win the award, following Stanley Matthews, Bobby Charlton, Kevin Keegan and Michael Owen.
Other winners on the night included Lamine Yamal, who won the Kopa Trophy for the best player under 21, and Unai Simon, who won the Yashin Trophy for best goalkeeper.
