Harry Kane Wins Men's Ballon d'Or, First Englishman Since Owen

Harry Kane has won the 2026 men's Ballon d'Or. The Bayern Munich and England striker collected the award at a ceremony at the London Palladium on Monday, October 26. Kate Scott and Thierry Henry hosted the night.

Kane is the first Englishman to win the award since Michael Owen in 2001. He finished ahead of Lamine Yamal and Kylian Mbappé, who were two of the other leading contenders. Mbappé was one of the favourites and was at the venue in London, but he missed out on the top prize. It is a major honour for the England captain, who moved from Tottenham Hotspur to Bayern in 2023.

Kane took home a second trophy on the night. He also won the Gerd Müller Trophy, which goes to the best striker of the year. His club side are doing well too. Bayern beat Freiburg 3-1 on Sunday to retake top spot in the Bundesliga on goal difference, level with Borussia Dortmund on 17 points.

The ceremony had plenty of other winners. The men's Kopa Trophy was the first award of the night. Lamine Yamal won it as the best young player, for the third year in a row. Yamal helped Barcelona retain La Liga last season, with 28 goal contributions. Unai Simón of Athletic Bilbao won the Yashin Trophy as the best goalkeeper. Spain boss Luis de la Fuente was named the men's coach of the year. Paris Saint-Germain won the men's club of the year award once again. Bukayo Saka took home the Sócrates Award.

On the women's side, Alexia Putellas won her third Ballon d'Or Féminin. Barcelona Femení were named the women's club of the year.

The ceremony came a day after Mbappé scored twice in Real Madrid's 2-1 Clásico win over Barcelona. Kane now returns to club duty with a huge match ahead. Bayern host Dortmund in Der Klassiker on Saturday, October 31.