Harry Redknapp shared a humorous tale about Harry Kane before the striker transformed into a Ballon d'Or winner. The England captain, 33, surpassed Lamine Yamal and Kylian Mbappe to claim the coveted prize last night at a ceremony in London. This followed an impressive season where he scored 73 goals for Bayern Munich and the Three Lions. Lionel Messi remains the only player to net more in a single campaign, with 82 for Barcelona and Argentina in 2011/12.
Success was not always guaranteed, as Redknapp pointed out with a story from 2011. Redknapp, 79, who served as Kane's first manager at Tottenham, spoke exclusively ahead of Monday night. He stated, "I loaned him out when he was 17 to Barry Hearn, who was the chairman of Leyton Orient."
According to Redknapp, Hearn contacted him saying, "We're going to get relegated. Have you got any players at Tottenham you could loan me?" Redknapp replied, "Yeah, I've got three kids here you can have, take them, it will do them the world of good to go and play." Redknapp later attended a function where Hearn spoke about the arrangement.
Hearn recalled that the loaned players helped them stay up. He noted that Andros Townsend went back to play for Tottenham and England, and Stephen Caulker did the same. However, Hearn admitted he said of Kane at the time, "Kane, no, he'll never be good enough to play for Tottenham," before adding at the function, "Shows you what I knew about football!"
Redknapp added, "To be fair, I don't think any of us saw him going on to become the best centre-forward in the world, which he is."
Full Men's Ballon d'Or rankings
Here is who finished in the top 30 for the Men's Ballon d'Or award:
- 1st. Harry Kane
- 2nd. Kylian Mbappe
- 3rd. Lamine Yamal
- 4th. Rodri
- 5th. Lionel Messi
- 6th. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia
- 7th. Ousmane Dembélé
- 8th. Erling Haaland
- 9th. Michael Olise
- 10th. Fabián Ruiz
- 11th: Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid and England)
- 12th: Pau Cubarsi (Barcelona and Spain)
- 13th: Achraf Hakimi (Paris Saint-Germain and Morocco)
- 14th: Vitinha (Paris Saint-Germain and Portugal)
- 15th: Declan Rice (Arsenal and England)
- 16th: Ferran Torres (Barcelona/Paris Saint-Germain and Spain)
- 17th: Vinícius Junior (Real Madrid and Brazil)
- 18th: Marc Cucurella (Chelsea/Real Madrid and Spain)
- 19th: Joao Neves (Paris Saint-Germain and Portugal)
- 20th: Willian Pacho (Paris Saint-Germain and Ecuador)
- 21st: Gabriel Magalhaes (Arsenal and Brazil)
- 22nd: Lautaro Martínez (Inter Milan and Argentina)
- 23rd: Nuno Mendes (Paris Saint-Germain and Portugal)
- 24th: Luis Diaz (Bayern Munich and Colombia)
- 25th: Marquinhos (Paris Saint-Germain and Brazil)
- 26th: Dayot Upamecano (Bayern Munich and France)
- 27th: Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United and Portugal)
- 28th Julián Quinones (Al Qadsiah and Mexico)
- 29th: Sadio Mane (Al Nassr and Senegal)
- 29th: William Saliba (Arsenal and France)
Kane delivered a heartfelt speech expressing gratitude to his bosses, including Redknapp and Russell Slade, who managed him at Orient. He then celebrated into the early hours at an exclusive London club, becoming the first Englishman to win the Ballon d'Or since Michael Owen in 2001. He kept close friends nearby, including former Spurs team-mates.
Redknapp recalled giving Kane his senior debut at Spurs in a Europa League qualifier against Hearts in 2011. After a 5-0 victory in the first leg in Edinburgh, they secured a penalty. Even as a young player, Kane grabbed the ball to take it, though he missed. Redknapp noted, "That shows what he was like, you had all those fantastic players in that team, but he didn't care. He has remained humble, and he's got time for everybody. He's a fantastic human being. Really genuine.">
