Harry Kane has won the 2026 Ballon d’Or, becoming the first English player to receive football’s most prestigious individual award since Michael Owen in 2001.
The 33-year-old Bayern Munich striker was presented with the trophy at the 70th Ballon d’Or ceremony at the London Palladium on October 26.
The award considered performances between August 3, 2025, and July 19, 2026, ending with the FIFA World Cup final. Kane scored 73 goals and supplied six assists in 65 appearances for Bayern Munich and England during that period.
For Bayern, he played 51 matches, scoring 61 goals and registering seven assists. He helped the club win the Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal and German Super Cup, while Bayern also reached the Champions League semi-finals.
Kane finished as the Bundesliga Golden Boot winner and European Golden Shoe winner, and was selected for both the Bundesliga and Champions League Teams of the Season.
He also captained England throughout the period, making 14 appearances and scoring 12 goals, with one assist. At the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Kane found the net six times and provided one assist in seven matches as England finished third.
The victory ends a 45-year wait for Bayern Munich, whose previous Ballon d’Or winner was Karl-Heinz Rummenigge in 1981. Kane is the fourth Bayern player to win the award, taking the club’s total number of victories to six.
He is the first Bundesliga player to claim the prize since Matthias Sammer in 1996. Kane is the seventh Bundesliga winner, with the league now accounting for 10 Ballon d’Or triumphs.
He becomes only the fifth English winner, following Stanley Matthews, Bobby Charlton, Kevin Keegan and Michael Owen.
The first Ballon d’Or was awarded to Stanley Matthews in 1956. The 2026 ceremony was the 70th edition and the first to be staged outside France.
Previous Ballon d’Or winners
1956 Stanley Matthews; 1957 Alfredo Di Stefano; 1958 Raymond Kopa; 1959 Alfredo Di Stefano; 1960 Luis Suarez; 1961 Omar Sivori; 1962 Josef Masopust; 1963 Lev Yashin; 1964 Denis Law; 1965 Eusebio; 1966 Bobby Charlton; 1967 Florian Albert; 1968 George Best; 1969 Gianni Rivera; 1970 Gerd Muller; 1971 Johan Cruyff; 1972 Franz Beckenbauer; 1973 Johan Cruyff; 1974 Johan Cruyff; 1975 Oleg Blokhin; 1976 Franz Beckenbauer; 1977 Allan Simonsen; 1978 Kevin Keegan; 1979 Kevin Keegan; 1980 Karl-Heinz Rummenigge; 1981 Karl-Heinz Rummenigge; 1982 Paolo Rossi; 1983 Michel Platini; 1984 Michel Platini; 1985 Michel Platini; 1986 Igor Belanov; 1987 Ruud Gullit; 1988 Marco van Basten; 1989 Marco van Basten; 1990 Lothar Matthaus; 1991 Jean-Pierre Papin; 1992 Marco van Basten; 1993 Roberto Baggio; 1994 Hristo Stoichkov.
From 1995, players of all nationalities representing European clubs became eligible: 1995 George Weah; 1996 Matthias Sammer; 1997 Ronaldo Nazario; 1998 Zinedine Zidane; 1999 Rivaldo; 2000 Luis Figo; 2001 Michael Owen; 2002 Ronaldo Nazario; 2003 Pavel Nedved; 2004 Andriy Shevchenko; 2005 Ronaldinho; 2006 Fabio Cannavaro.
From 2007, eligibility covered professional footballers worldwide: 2007 Kaka; 2008 Cristiano Ronaldo; 2009 Lionel Messi.
The award was jointly presented with FIFA from 2010 to 2015: 2010 Lionel Messi; 2011 Lionel Messi; 2012 Lionel Messi; 2013 Cristiano Ronaldo; 2014 Cristiano Ronaldo; 2015 Lionel Messi.
France Football resumed independent presentation in 2016: 2016 Cristiano Ronaldo; 2017 Cristiano Ronaldo; 2018 Luka Modric; 2019 Lionel Messi. The award was cancelled in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Winners since then were 2021 Lionel Messi; 2022 Karim Benzema; 2023 Lionel Messi; 2024 Rodri; 2025 Ousmane Dembele; 2026 Harry Kane.
