England fans experienced shock when Gary Lineker and Harry Kane stated they had never met each other, though that did not turn out to be entirely accurate.
Both icons of the Three Lions were present at the London Palladium for the 2026 Ballon d'Or event.
Kane secured the award as the first Englishman to win it since Michael Owen in 2001, surpassing competitors like Lamine Yamal and Kylian Mbappe to claim football's top individual honor.
Yet on the red carpet, Kane and former Match of the Day presenter Lineker informed British GQ they had never crossed paths.
Beginning with Lineker, the 65-year-old stated, “You know I've never met Harry Kane. I have never, ever met Harry. So that's mad, so I'd like to see Harry.”
When that remark was shared with Bayern Munich forward Kane, he confirmed it would be nice to meet Lineker, noting, “That's true, never met. We've exchanged messages across the camera but we've actually never seen each other in person.”
Kane then inquired if Lineker, who also represented Tottenham and Leicester, was present, and the reporter verified he was, leading the 32-year-old to state he would definitely meet him later that night.
Ultimately the pair did connect, appearing together later in the evening to chat and exchange a hug.
Fans shared their reactions online, with one writing, “That seems completely bonkers that they've never met.”
Another posted, “When Gary met Harry.”
A third remarked, “Two of England's greatest World Cup goalscorers both played for Leicester and Tottenham but had never met each other. That's crazy.”
Someone else wrote, “That is unbelievable. The first meeting of these two amazing England strikers.”
A fifth asked, “How is that even possible…?”
Despite their famous goalscoring records, both Lineker and Kane missed the target regarding their memories.
It emerged that the two had previously met face-to-face in 2017 at the Sports Personality of the Year event, along with another encounter in 2018.
During both occasions they shared the stage, but evidently only exchanged brief pleasantries that failed to register as a genuine meeting for either man.
One potential topic of conversation could have been how Kane surpassed Lineker's record for most World Cup finals goals for England over the summer, bringing Kane's total to 14 compared to Lineker's 10, while both share six goals in the knockout rounds of the tournament.
