Harry Kane has won the 2026 Men’s Ballon d’Or after a remarkable season in which the Bayern Munich striker scored 73 goals in 65 appearances for club and country.
The England captain was crowned at the 70th edition of the prestigious ceremony, held at the Palladium Theatre in London on Monday, October 26, becoming the first Englishman to win football’s most coveted individual award since Michael Owen in 2001.
"It was always about working hard," said Kane. "It was always about improving, it was always about learning.”
Kane finished ahead of Real Madrid forward Kylian Mbappé and Barcelona youngster Lamine Yamal to claim the honour.
ALSO READ: Ballon d’Or 2026: Yamal, Mbappé and Messi headline nominees
The striker’s prolific scoring record proved decisive in his pursuit of the award. He netted 61 goals in 51 appearances for Bayern during the 2025/26 season, including 36 in 31 Bundesliga matches.
He also scored six goals for England at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, where the Three Lions finished third.
At club level, Kane played a pivotal role in Bayern’s successful campaign, helping the German giants win both the Bundesliga title and the German Cup. Those team achievements, coupled with his outstanding individual numbers, strengthened his case for football’s top individual honour.
Kane’s triumph ends a 25-year wait for an English winner of the men’s Ballon d’Or, with Owen having been the last player from England to claim the award in 2001.
Putellas wins third women's Ballon d'Or
Meanwhile, Spain midfielder Alexia Putellas won the Ballon d'Or Feminin for a record-equalling third time, keeping the prize in Spanish hands for a sixth consecutive year.
Putellas, 32, captained Barcelona to Champions League glory as part of a quadruple in 2025-26, before joining Women's Super League (WSL) side London City Lionesses in July.
She joins Spain team-mate Aitana Bonmati on three Ballon d'Or Feminin crowns - her former Barcelona colleague won the award in 2023, 2024 and 2025 after Putellas did so in 2021 and 2022.
Putellas' latest victory caps a remarkable return to the pinnacle of world football after suffering a career-threatening anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury in 2022.
She collected the most votes from an international panel of journalists across Fifa's top-50 ranked countries, with Barcelona striker Ewa Pajor coming second and Manchester City forward Khadija Shaw third.
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