Harry Kane has been crowned the best player in the world. The Bayern Munich and England striker won the 2026 Ballon d’Or at a ceremony at the London Palladium on Monday night, October 26, beating Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappé and Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal to football’s most famous individual prize.
Kane, 33, becomes the first English player to win the award since Michael Owen in 2001, and only the fifth Englishman ever to lift the Golden Ball.
“Anything is possible”
An emotional Kane told the audience on stage: “Wow, I’m almost speechless.” He thanked the voting jury, adding: “Thank you to everyone who voted for me, I can imagine it was tough.”
He also had a message for young fans: “For any young boy or girl who wants to achieve their dream, anything is possible.”
The ceremony started 45 minutes late, at 8:45pm, because of heavy traffic in London, but the delay did nothing to dampen a historic night for English football.
A record-breaking season
Kane’s victory caps a remarkable 2025-26 campaign in which he scored 73 goals for club and country. The Ballon d’Or organisers described his season as “a record-breaking welter of league and cup goals” for Bayern Munich, where he continued his prolific run in both the Bundesliga and the Champions League.
On the international stage, he captained England to the semi-finals of the 2026 World Cup in North America.
The award is decided by a jury of 100 journalists from around the world, each of whom ranks 10 players from a 30-man shortlist.
2026 Ballon d’Or top 10
- Harry Kane (Bayern Munich, England)
- Kylian Mbappé (Real Madrid, France)
- Lamine Yamal (Barcelona, Spain)
- Rodri (Spain)
- Lionel Messi (Argentina)
- Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (Georgia)
- Ousmane Dembélé (France)
- Erling Haaland (Norway)
- Michael Olise (France)
- Fabián Ruiz (Spain)
Mbappé had a strong case after becoming the all-time top scorer in World Cup history with 22 goals, 10 of them at this summer’s tournament, while Yamal won the World Cup with Spain. In the end, the jury rewarded Kane’s relentless goalscoring.
Other award winners
- Women’s Ballon d’Or: Alexia Putellas (Barcelona) – her third
- Men’s Coach of the Year: Luis de la Fuente (Spain)
- Women’s Coach of the Year: Pere Romeu (Barcelona)
- Men’s Young Player (Kopa Trophy): Lamine Yamal
- Women’s Young Player: Vicky López
- Men’s Goalkeeper (Yashin Trophy): Unai Simón
- Women’s Goalkeeper: Cata Coll
- Men’s Club of the Year: Paris Saint-Germain
- Women’s Club of the Year: Barcelona
- Sócrates Award: Bukayo Saka
Yamal, collecting his young player award, said the prize “should have been for” his Barcelona teammate Pau Cubarsí.
English football celebrates
Kane joins Stanley Matthews, Bobby Charlton, Kevin Keegan and Michael Owen as English winners of the Ballon d’Or. For a player who spent years being told he would never win a major individual honour without leaving Tottenham, the move to Bayern Munich has now delivered the biggest prize of all.
Last year’s winner was Ousmane Dembélé, and Rodri won in 2024. Lionel Messi still holds the record with eight Ballons d’Or, ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo with five.
Flashinfong Sports congratulates Harry Kane on a historic night.