Harry Kane says he is no more certain than anyone else about who will win the 2026 Ballon d’Or, despite being the bookmakers’ favourite ahead of next Monday’s ceremony.
The Bayern Munich forward made the admission after helping his side to a 2-2 UEFA Champions League draw on Wednesday night. The winner of football’s most prestigious individual award will be announced at an event in London next Monday evening.
The Ballon d’Or has been presented by football journalists on behalf of French publication France Football since 1956. This year’s ceremony will identify the 70th winner, with the award having been held annually apart from 2020, when it was cancelled because of Covid.
Paris Saint-Germain forward Ousmane Dembele is the current holder. Argentina captain Lionel Messi has won the trophy a record eight times, while Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo has claimed it on five occasions.
Kane is narrowly ahead of Barcelona teenager Lamine Yamal in the betting for the 2026 award. Michael Owen, who won in 2001, is the most recent of four English players to have received the prize.
Yamal has said he “deserves” the award after scoring 34 goals and providing 28 assists for Barcelona since the start of last season. He also scored four times in four wins for Spain during the recent UEFA Nations League window.
Those performances moved Yamal level with Kane in the bookmakers’ rankings. Kane subsequently moved back in front after scoring six Nations League goals and adding four more for Bayern Munich.
The 33-year-old has scored 71 goals and provided 14 assists for Bayern since the start of last season, while his record for England stands at 18 goals and three assists.
Kane has not publicly backed a particular candidate, but said he would be pleased to receive the honour after what he called “a great year”.
He also acknowledged that the imminent announcement had made it difficult to concentrate solely on football.
“I’d love to know (in advance who wins) to just kind of see and not have to wait throughout the whole night,” Kane said on Wednesday.
“But it is their decision, I can’t control that. We’ll have to just enjoy it and try not to stress out too much.
“They want everyone to go, all the big names there and there will be more people watching it if they don’t know, so I can understand why.
“I try not to think about it. Obviously it is hard not to. There are always rumours flying around and you try to stay away from it.”
Organisers first attempted to keep the result completely secret in 2024. However, Real Madrid boycotted that ceremony after learning through a leak that Vinicius Junior had been beaten by Rodri in the voting.
This year’s Ballon d’Or gala will be held at the London Palladium Theatre from 20:00 to 22:00 BST on Monday. Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi are also outsiders in what is otherwise widely viewed as a contest between Kane and Yamal.
