Harry Kane Wins 2026 Ballon d'Or — First Englishman in 25 Years

Harry Kane was crowned the 2026 Ballon d'Or winner at a ceremony in London on 27 October, becoming the first English player to lift the award since Michael Owen in 2001. The Bayern Munich forward scored 73 goals across club and country during the 2025–26 season, earning him the prize from French magazine France Football. He follows Sir Stanley Matthews, Sir Bobby Charlton, Kevin Keegan and Owen as English Ballon d'Or winners, and becomes the first Bayern Munich player to claim the honour in 45 years.

Kane finished ahead of Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappé in second and Barcelona winger Lamine Yamal in third. In an emotional acceptance speech, the former Tottenham forward described his path from forgettable loan moves to the game's highest individual prize, urging young players that "anything is possible."

England head coach Thomas Tuchel praised Kane as "our leader" and said he had "run out of superlatives," while Prince William, patron of the Football Association, called the win "a fantastic achievement and so deserved."

The evening was far from smooth: the official France Football website briefly published three separate articles naming Kane, Mbappé and Yamal each as the winner before all three were taken down. The ceremony itself was then delayed 45 minutes to an 8:45pm start because of London traffic.

Among the other honours, Alexia Putellas claimed her third Women's Ballon d'Or, Spain's Luis de la Fuente won Men's Coach of the Year, Unai Simón of Athletic Club received the Men's Goalkeeper of the Year award, and Lamine Yamal took the Men's Young Talent of the Year prize.