A group of Spanish television broadcasters sat in absolute silence after the announcement that Harry Kane secured the Ballon d'Or. The England and Bayern Munich star defeated competitors such as Kylian Mbappe and Lamine Yamal for the top honour. Organisers handed the trophy to the 32-year-old at the London Palladium during an event marking the 70th anniversary of Sir Stanley Matthews winning the accolade first.
Kane delivered a strong performance across all matches by registering 73 goals and eight assists throughout all competitions, matching statistics not witnessed since the peak years of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. He faced fierce competition, including Barcelona and Spain player Yamal, who captured La Liga and the World Cup.
Web pages for the Ballon d'Or accidentally published stories naming Kane, Yamal, and Frenchman Mbappe as the victors prior to the announcement. Ultimately, Kane secured the primary individual prize in football, becoming the initial English player to achieve this since Michael Owen in 2001.
Five Dazn anchors observing the gala from a television set dropped their jaws and stopped holding hands as the outcome sank in. Supporters disagreed with their astonished reaction on social media. One observer wrote, "It was very clear that Kane could win, he was better than Mbappe and Lamine." Another supporter asked, "And who was gonna win it, Yamal?" A third person posted, "Hahahaha the Spanish are the only ones who don't believe it." A fourth viewer stated, "What's amazing about it? He is the best and it was fair."
Full Men's Ballon d'Or rankings
HERE'S 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)