For years Harry Kane was the striker everybody admired and nobody crowned. That changed on Monday night at the London Palladium, where the 33-year-old Bayern Munich forward collected the 70th Ballon d’Or ahead of Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappé and Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal. The evening also belonged to Spain’s Alexia Putellas, who now owns three of the golden balls handed out in the women’s vote.
The milestones stack up. England had waited a quarter of a century for this; Michael Owen was the last to bring it home, back in 2001. Before him the list was short: Stanley Matthews, Bobby Charlton and Kevin Keegan, who won twice. He is also the first Bayern player honoured since Karl-Heinz Rummenigge in 1981, ending a 45-year wait for the German club.
Raw numbers carried the vote. Kane struck 61 times in 51 games for Bayern in 2025-26, a club record for a single season, and finished with 73 goals and eight assists once England matches were added. He topped the Bundesliga scoring chart with 36 and lifted the league title and German Cup. What he still lacks is a major international or European trophy: both the World Cup and the Champions League ended for him at the semi-final stage, though England did claim third place in the summer.
The night had its share of chaos. The official website accidentally published the podium hours early, and heavy traffic outside the venue pushed the start of the gala back. None of that dimmed the reception when Kane walked out to chants of his first name. His speech saved its warmest words for his wife Kate, after nods to Bayern, the national team and Tottenham, where it all began.
His message to youngsters was about patience. “It wasn’t straightforward,” he said, recalling the loan spells he went through before breaking through. Back in north-west London, Wembley’s arch glowed gold in his honour.
