The 2026 Ballon d'Or award ceremony was held in London, and Bayern Munich and England forward Harry Kane won the award for the first time. Kane helped Bayern win the domestic treble last season, finishing as the Bundesliga's top scorer for the third year in a row with 36 goals. He played in 51 games in all competitions, scoring 61 goals, and also scored 6 goals at the 2026 World Cup, leading his national team to the final four. He scored 73 goals in all competitions for club and country, and was also awarded the Gerd Müller Trophy.
According to Opta data, Kane is the first England player to win the award in 25 years since Michael Owen in 2001, the first Bundesliga player in 30 years since Matthias Sammer in 1996, and the first Bayern player to win the award in 45 years since Karl-Heinz Rummenigge in 1981. At 33 years and 90 days old, he is the fourth-latest player in history to receive the award, with only three players older than him: Stanley Matthews, Karim Benzema and Lev Yashin.
Kane's decisiveness and consistency are remarkable, making him only the second player to score over 70 goals for club and country, following Lionel Messi in 2011-12. His 61 goals for the club are the first since Cristiano Ronaldo in 2014/15, and 19 more than any player who played in Europe's top five leagues in the same period. Kane has a shooting success rate of 24.1% in all competitions, excluding penalty kicks, which is 20.3 times higher than his expected goal score, and Kane is always sure to convert his chances.
Kane is expected to play at an even higher level after winning the Ballon d'Or. His next challenge is to rack up more goals for club and country, as well as further success at the 2026 World Cup.