England captain Harry Kane, 33, enters tonight in London as the bookmakers favourite for the Ballon d'Or, hoping to become Bayern Munich's first winner since 1981 and the first Englishman to claim the prize since Michael Owen 25 years ago after scoring 73 goals last season.

Bookmakers list Kane as the favourite, though Kylian Mbappe and Lamine Yamal trail closely behind in what is projected to be a tight result. Historically, Bayern Munich players have struggled when voting margins are close.

Robert Lewandowski was widely expected to win the 2020 award after securing a league, cup and Champions League treble as top scorer across all three competitions. However, France Football cancelled the ceremony due to the Covid pandemic. In 2021, Lewandowski scored 41 goals in 29 Bundesliga games but placed second to Lionel Messi in a close vote. Manuel Neuer previously reached the podium in 2014, taking third place behind Lionel Messi and winner Cristiano Ronaldo.

In 2013, Franck Ribery had a strong opportunity to break the Ronaldo and Messi duopoly. The French winger starred in a Bayern squad that collected five trophies, set up Arjen Robben in the Champions League final, and earned the title of Uefa Best Player in Europe.

The voting window was extended by two weeks in an unprecedented move, allowing Ronaldo to score an international hat-trick that secured Portugal a spot in the 2014 World Cup. Ribery finished third behind Ronaldo and Messi.

Ribery, now 43, stated to Gazzetta dello Sport in 2022 that the outcome was unfair, pointing to an incredible season where he felt a political choice was made due to the extended voting period.

Last 10 Ballon d'Or winners

  • 2025 - Ousmane Dembele
  • 2024 - Rodri
  • 2023 - Lionel Messi
  • 2022 - Karim Benzema
  • 2021 - Lionel Messi
  • 2019 - Lionel Messi
  • 2018 - Luka Modric
  • 2017 - Cristiano Ronaldo
  • 2016 - Cristiano Ronaldo
  • 2015 - Lionel Messi
  • 2014 - Cristiano Ronaldo

Kane addressed the ceremony to CBS Sports last week, noting he was unsure of the outcome while focusing on matches in the middle of the season and describing a win as a massive career milestone.