Harry Kane Claims 2026 Ballon d'Or As First English Winner In 25 Years

Harry Kane has won the 2026 Ballon d'Or, becoming the first English player to take the prize in 25 years following a stellar season for Bayern Munich and England.

NationPulse Desk

Oct 27, 2026 · 3:51 AM 3 min read

Key takeaways

Harry Kane won the 2026 Ballon d'Or at the London Palladium on Monday night.

Kane scored 61 goals in 51 appearances for Bayern Munich last season.

He is the first English player to win the award in 25 years, following Michael Owen in 2001.

Lamine Yamal won the Men's Young Talent of the Year award for the third consecutive year.

Harry Kane has been named as the winner of the 2026 Ballon d'Or.

The Bayern Munich star had an incredible year for club and country last season, scoring 61 times in 51 appearances for the German giants alone.

His scoring exploits earned him the trophy, making him the first Englishman to secure the award in 25 YEARS.

Liverpool star Michael Owen was the last to seal the title in 2001, becoming the second-youngest player ever to do so at the age of 22 years and four days.

Owen beat competition from Raul, Oliver Kahn and David Beckham to take the glory after helping Liverpool to their historic domestic treble in the 2000/01 season.

Kane faced tough competition from LaLiga standouts Lamine Yamal and Kylian Mbappe at the event held at the London Palladium on Monday night.

Yamal helped Barcelona win the Spanish title and played a key role in Spain's World Cup victory in July.

The Barcelona teenager still left with the Men's Young Talent of the Year award for a third consecutive year.

Club colleagues also triumphed as Pere Romeu won Women's Coach of the Year, Vicky Lopez took Women's Young Talent of the Year, and Cata Coll claimed Women's Goalkeeper of the Year.

Spain manager Luis de la Fuente secured Men's Coach of the Year after guiding La Roja to their second World Cup title, two years after defeating England in the Euro 2024 final.

Athletic Bilbao goalkeeper Unai Simon also picked up the Men's Goalkeeper of the Year prize as part of the world champion squad.

Alexia Putellas of the London City Lionesses capped off the night for Spain by winning the Women's Ballon d'Or.

Kane's own record included leading Vincent Kompany's Bayern side to a domestic treble.

He then captained Thomas Tuchel's England team in the US.

His leadership and six goals in seven matches guided the Three Lions to the semi-finals before an exit against Lionel Messi's Argentina.

The Ballon d'Or was first established in 1956 by the French publication France Football.

A panel of one journalist from each of the top 100-ranked FIFA member nations casts votes for the prize.

Blackpool forward Stanley Matthews was the very first recipient, then called the European footballer of the year, defeating Real Madrid icon Alfredo di Stefano.

Monday's ceremony took place in London for the first time to celebrate 70 years since Matthews won the inaugural trophy, moving from its usual home at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris where it has stayed since 2019.

Kevin Keegan remains the only other Englishman to win the honour, securing back-to-back trophies in 1978 and 1979.