Harry Kane has won the 2026 Ballon d'Or, becoming the first Englishman to lift football's greatest individual prize since Michael Owen in 2001. The Bayern Munich striker was named the winner at a ceremony at the London Palladium on Monday 26 October, finishing ahead of Kylian Mbappé and Lamine Yamal in the voting.

Kane, 33, was rewarded for a remarkable 2025-26 season in which he scored 73 goals in 65 competitive matches for club and country. He scored 36 goals in 31 Bundesliga matches as Bayern Munich won the German league title, and 14 goals in 13 Champions League matches, with Bayern reaching the semi-finals before losing to eventual winners Paris Saint-Germain. He scored in both legs of the quarter-final against Real Madrid and both legs of the semi-final against PSG. He also scored six goals for England at the 2026 World Cup, where the Three Lions finished third.

The award is voted on by journalists from each of the top 100 countries in the FIFA rankings, with each voter ranking their 10 best players of the year. Kane's win comes after an era of dominance by Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, who won all but two of the awards between 2008 and 2023. Rodri won the prize in 2024 and Ousmane Dembélé in 2025; Kane is the first English winner since Owen, 25 years ago.

Kane was cheered onto the stage in his home city by chants of “Harry, Harry” from the crowd, and the occasion clearly meant a great deal to him. “It being here in London as well has made it extra special,” Kane said after collecting the award. “Thank you very much. Thank you to everyone who voted for me. I can imagine it was really tough this year – some incredible players I was up against.” The ceremony had been delayed by a rainy, traffic-logged night in London, but the wait only added to the occasion for the home crowd.

The award completes a remarkable turnaround for a player who, less than 15 months ago, had never won a team trophy in his senior career. Kane played more than 300 matches for Tottenham Hotspur between 2009 and 2023 and left the club without lifting a trophy. He now has two Bundesliga titles, the DFB-Pokal and football's top individual honour to his name.

Kane also collected the Gerd Müller Trophy as the season's top scorer, with his 73 goals the most of any player in world football. Yamal, third in the voting, was named Young Talent of the Year for a third successive time — see the full list of the night's winners. The full top 10 from the men's vote was as follows:

For Kane, the wait is over — and England finally has another Ballon d'Or winner.