Harry Kane: The case for winning the 2026 Ballon d’Or

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Christian Falk - Bayern Insider

·18 September 2026

Harry Kane: The case for winning the 2026 Ballon d’Or

Harry Kane has hinted at why he should be considered a serious contender for this year’s Ballon d’Or award.

The England international pointed to his 73 goals across club and country last year, while referencing the incredible feats of two of the game’s most legendary figures, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

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The award ceremony will be held in London on 26 October.

2026 is already out of sight and mind for Harry Kane

(Photo by Adam Pretty/Getty Images)

Speaking about the Messi and Ronaldo era, Kane noted: “Whenever you’re compared to some of the greats, it just means you’re doing something really well, which is great.

“In terms of the Ballon d’Or, again, it’s the same thing. It’s a consequence of putting in performances, performing at the highest level and doing it on the bigger stage.

“Last year was great from that point of view. Like I said, those conversations will be had. But yeah, we’ll have to wait and see. From my point of view, you know, last season is last season. It was incredible, but we’re on a new one now and this is the start of, I guess, next year’s Ballon d’Or or the things ahead, and that’s what I get most excited about.

“I grew up watching Messi and Ronaldo, the era of them just dominating and dominating. Obviously Messi is the only one to have scored more with 82, but even some of their other seasons, and Ronaldo’s highest I think was 69. These are numbers that I just thought were silly, which they are. They are the two greatest of our generation and arguably of all time. So 73 goals, even for me, I am pretty amazed by that.”

But despite hitting some truly impressive numbers in the 2025/26 campaign (68 goal contributions across all competitions, to be precise), the former Spurs star still believes he can reach even greater heights: “My ambition is always to improve. I think, you know, 73 goals is a big number to get in a single season to try and improve on, but that’s the aim.

“And yeah, I think when I talk about improving, it’s not just the goals and things. I think it’s all the little aspects around the game, on the pitch, off the pitch. From a physical point of view, I feel great. The best I ever have. I think my numbers are as high as ever. That consistency is what I believe gets you noticed at the highest level.

“The Ballon d’Or is as big as it gets from an individual point of view. I know I had a great season last season. But as always, the focus is on this new season. See if I can maintain my level, but also just keep pushing and see what else is possible.”

And could the Ballon d’Or ceremony being held, effectively, on ‘home ground’ for the 33-year-old hitman be considered a positive omen? Perhaps, but Kane fairly pointed out that Englishmen have struggled to get their hands on the award since Michael Owen’s 2001 win: “Having the ceremony in London is obviously special for me. I’m from London and lived there for a long time – maybe that’s a good omen.

“No Englishman has won it for more than 20 years, even though there have been many great English players in that time.

“Winning the Ballon d’Or would be a huge achievement for me. But right now, I’m focused on performing this season.”

What do the stats say about FC Bayern’s Harry Kane?

(Photo by Alex Grimm/Getty Images)

Not to get fellow frontrunners Kylian Mbappe (Real Madrid) and Lamine Yamal (FC Barcelona) worried or anything… but there’s a long list of reasons as to why Harry Kane should be considered the favourite.

Brace yourselves:

Harry Kane scored 73 goals for club and country and set up eight more over just 65 games for Bayern Munich and England between August 2025 and July 2026
It’s the second-best scoring season by any player in history, behind only Lionel Messi’s 82 in 69 matches for Barcelona and Argentina in 2011/12
61 club goals and 7 assists in 51 games. The last player to score this many goals in all competitions was Cristiano Ronaldo in the 2014/15 season
European Golden Shoe winner for the second time. Nine goals and 18 points clear of second place, Erling Haaland
Harry joins an elite group of players who have won the European Golden Shoe twice; only Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have won the award more than twice
Won the domestic treble with Bayern Munich by winning the German Super Cup, Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal
Scored a hat-trick in the DFB-Pokal Final to secure the domestic treble for the first time in six years for Bayern Munich
The highest-scoring player in a single season for Bayern Munich
Top goalscorer in the Bundesliga for the third year in a row
Scored in every knockout round of the Champions League and DFB-Pokal
Harry Kane became the fastest player to reach 100 goals for a club in Europe’s top five leagues
Harry Kane is the second-highest goalscorer in the Champions League with 14 goals
Harry Kane has scored more goals in the last four major tournaments than any other European player
Harry Kane has now become one of only two players in football history to score 20 or more goals across the FIFA World Cup and European Championship, joining Cristiano Ronaldo (24)
Since Euro 2020, Harry Kane has scored 13 knockout goals at major tournaments – ahead of Kylian Mbappé, who is on 11 in second place
Harry Kane is fifth overall among the players with the most goals in FIFA World Cup history
Harry Kane finished third at the 2026 FIFA World Cup – the highest position for an England men’s team since they won the tournament in 1966
Harry Kane has been named Kicker’s Men’s Player of the Year and Sport Bild’s Football Star of the Year
Harry Kane was in the top 10 for distance covered at the FIFA World Cup. He had played one fewer game than most of the other players in the top 10
Harry Kane is England’s all-time leading FIFA World Cup goalscorer
Since joining Bayern Munich in 2023, no player from Europe’s top 5 leagues has scored more goals in all competitions- 13 goals clear of Mbappé in second place
The fourth player in football history to score in 8 or more consecutive Champions League matches

An incredible individual, but also a team player

We think it would do Kane and his personal game a disservice if we didn’t emphasise the fact that he’s shone not only as an individual, but also, crucially, as a key cog within FC Bayern.

Those watching Vincent Kompany’s men last term will have been familiar with the sight of the Englishman dropping deep into his ‘quarterback’ role.

In fact, it’s far from unusual to see the striker dropping as far back as his own half – sometimes into his own box – to support build-up.

And this isn’t a footballer dropping back because of his weakening body – it’s one who is naturally heavily involved in all aspects of the game. Goals, chance creation, deep build-up play, recoveries… You name it.

Harry Kane can do (and has done) it all.