The 33-year-old England captain received the trophy at a ceremony in London on Monday evening, finishing ahead of Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappé and Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal.
Kane’s triumph followed a record-breaking 2025/26 season in which he scored 73 goals across all competitions for club and country, helping Bayern secure a domestic treble while finishing as the Bundesliga’s top scorer for a third consecutive campaign.
Visibly emotional on stage, Kane said he was “almost speechless,” adding that winning the award in London made the moment especially meaningful.
The victory also marked him as only the fifth English player ever to lift the Ballon d’Or, ending a long wait since Michael Owen’s success in 2001.
For a player long regarded as one of the world’s most consistent finishers, the golden ball finally confirms what many had come to believe: Harry Kane now stands among football’s true greats and becomes the first Englishman to claim the prestigious award in 25 years.
