Kane ends England’s 25-year wait for Ballon d’Or

MATTHEW CHILDS/ACTION IMAGES/REUTERS 

England and Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane was awarded 

the men’s Ballon d’Or trophy at a ceremony in London last night

27 Oct 2026 - The Guardian

Barney Ronay - @London Palladium

Harry Kane is the Ballon d’Or winner for 2026, the first English man to win football’s most prestigious individual trophy in 25 years.

Two hours into a lavishly excitable ceremony at the Palladium Theatre in London, Kane’s name emerged from the final envelope to wild cheers inside the auditorium. The women’s Ballon d’Or, awarded moments earlier, was won by Alexia Putellas of London City Lionesses, a third Ballon, five years on from her first in the colours of Barcelona.

In the men’s voting Kane finished ahead of co-favourites Lamine Yamal of Barcelona and Kylian Mbappé of Real Madrid, an outcome that will perhaps cause the familiar consternation among the hierarchy of those clubs, not to mention the vast online fan army attached to the superstar players in Kane’s wake.

But Kane is also a fully deserving winner of football’s ultimate gong. The France Football-sponsored trophy is awarded by a vote of journalists and administrators across the footballing super-scape. For Kane it is reward for a year during which he has won the European Golden Boot, played a major role in Bayern Munich’s Bundesliga title, captained England to a World Cup semi-final, and above all shown himself to be wonderfully humble superstar player.

“It was really tough this year, the incredible players I was up against,” Kane said as he received the trophy, going on to congratulate everyone else nominated for anything else, and thank pretty much everyone he has ever played with.

As a pure goalscorer his numbers are astonishing this year, with 89 goals for club and country since the start of August 2025. At Bayern, Kane has also become a darling of the Bundesliga for his all-round game, creativity, intelligence and professionalism. Bayern paid a record €100m fee for Kane three years ago, a transfer that raised some concerns, given Kane was 30 at the time.