Harry Kane wins Ballon d'Or to end England's 25-year wait

Harry Kane has won the 2026 Ballon d'Or, becoming the first English recipient since Michael Owen in 2001. BBC Sport reported that the Bayern Munich striker received the award at a ceremony in London after a season in which he set a club scoring record.

Watch the highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCBccdxozz8

The 33-year-old scored 61 times in 51 Bayern appearances, with another 12 goals for England bringing his combined total to 73. His club tally included 36 Bundesliga goals, 14 in the Champions League, 10 in the German Cup and one in the German Super Cup.

Kane helped Bayern secure the German double, although his club and England both went out in the semi-finals of the Champions League and World Cup respectively. He is Bayern's first Ballon d'Or winner since Karl-Heinz Rummenigge in 1981. His best previous placing was 10th, and he becomes the fifth Englishman to receive the honour.

The announcement followed confusion earlier on Monday over material appearing on the award's own website. In a separate report, BBC Sport said an article presenting Kane as the winner had circulated more than four and a half hours before the scheduled announcement at London's Palladium Theatre. It initially prompted questions over whether the result had been disclosed ahead of the ceremony. Journalists had cast their votes at the end of September, according to the same report.

However, similar winner articles had also appeared for other contenders, including Barcelona's Lamine Yamal and Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe. A spokesperson told the BBC that nominee profiles had been published accidentally. The material had been prepared for all nominees, the spokesperson explained, and did not indicate the final result or the order in which candidates would finish.

The BBC reported that the Kane and Mbappe pages were subsequently removed. Comparable articles had also been prepared for women's award nominees Alexia Putellas and Ewa Pajor. The organisers' explanation meant that the earlier website posts were not confirmation of the men's winner; Kane's success was established by the later announcement at the London ceremony.