Harry Kane wins the 2026 Ballon d’Or after record 73-goal season

Harry Kane has won the 2026 Ballon d'Or, becoming the first English player to claim the award since Michael Owen in 2001. The 33-year-old Bayern Munich striker received the trophy at a ceremony in London.

Kane is the fifth Englishman to win the Ballon d'Or, following Stanley Matthews in 1956, Bobby Charlton in 1966, and Kevin Keegan in 1978 and 1979, the BBC reported. His victory ends a 25-year wait for an English winner.

Only Lionel Messi, with 82 goals for Barcelona and Argentina in 2011-12, has scored more in a season among players from Europe's top leagues, the BBC reported. Kane's 73 goals compared with 58 for Kylian Mbappé and 25 for Lamine Yamal, according to Yahoo Sports.

Kane is the first Bayern Munich player to win the Ballon d'Or since Karl-Heinz Rummenigge in 1981. He won the award despite not lifting either of football's biggest prizes last season, having lost in both the World Cup and Champions League semi-finals, according to the BBC.

In the Bundesliga, Kane was the top scorer with 36 goals, 17 clear of anyone else, the BBC reported. He scored 14 Champions League goals for the beaten semi-finalists and 10 goals in the German Cup, including a hat-trick in the final win over Stuttgart, plus one in the German Super Cup.

For England, Kane scored 12 goals last season, including six at the World Cup, to reach his total of 73. He became England's all-time leading scorer at the tournament, and England finished third after beating Kylian Mbappé's France in the third-place play-off.

Including assists, Kane recorded 81 direct goal involvements, ahead of Mbappé's 71 and Yamal's 45, Yahoo Sports reported. Bayern Munich won the Bundesliga, German Cup and Super Cup, with Kane the undisputed focal point of their attack.

The Bavarians reached the Champions League semi-finals, bowing out to Paris Saint-Germain on a 6-5 aggregate, according to Yahoo Sports. Despite Yamal winning the World Cup and Mbappé topping several scoring charts, Kane's individual output proved decisive.

Former England striker Alan Shearer had told BBC Sport before the ceremony: "The winner of the Ballon d'Or should be Harry Kane." Former England midfielder Danny Murphy said Kane's goalscoring had been "relentless, brilliant" and the trophy would be a great reward.

In the Bundesliga, only Gerd Muller and Robert Lewandowski have bettered Kane's 36 goals in 31 league games, according to CBS Sports. The Ballon d'Or was only available to European players from its formation in 1956 until 1995, when it was opened up to everyone, the BBC added.