Harry Kane becomes the first English player since 2001 to win the Ballon d'Or

England captain and Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane has been named the winner of the 2026 Ballon d'Or. At the ceremony in London on October 26, the 33-year-old became the first English player to win the award since Michael Owen in 2001, BBC Sport reported.

Kane is the fifth Englishman to win the Ballon d'Or, after Stanley Matthews (1956), Bobby Charlton (1966), Kevin Keegan (1978 and 1979) and Michael Owen (2001). He is also the first Bayern Munich player to win it since Karl-Heinz Rummenigge in 1981. Real Madrid forward Kylian Mbappé finished second and Barcelona's Lamine Yamal third.

A record-breaking season

In the 2025-26 season Kane scored 61 goals in 51 matches in all competitions for Bayern Munich, the most any Bayern player has scored in a single campaign. He was the Bundesliga's top scorer with 36 goals, and added 14 in the Champions League and 10 in the German Cup. Including his 12 goals for England, he scored 73 goals in 65 matches over the season. According to BBC Sport, the only player from Europe's top five leagues to score more in one season is Lionel Messi, with 82 in 2011-12.

Kane won the award despite missing out on football's two biggest prizes last season, losing in the semi-finals of both the World Cup and the Champions League. He won the German league and cup double with Bayern. "Not many people would have thought it, and maybe even I wouldn't have thought I'd be this far," Kane told DAZN after the ceremony.

Other winners

In the women's category, Alexia Putellas won the Ballon d'Or for the third time, equaling the record. Lamine Yamal became the first player to win the Kopa Trophy, awarded to the best player under 21, three years in a row.

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