Harry Kane has won the 2026 Ballon d'Or. The Bayern Munich and England captain was named the winner at a ceremony at the London Palladium on Monday 26 October 2026, and UEFA confirmed the result in an official announcement, listing Kane as the men's Ballon d'Or winner for England and Bayern Munich. It is the first Ballon d'Or of Kane's career, and he is the first Englishman to win football's most prestigious individual prize since Michael Owen in 2001.
The Ballon d'Or is organised by France Football and has been co-organised with UEFA since 2024. UEFA's announcement notes that the award has been presented annually since 1956, and that this year's ceremony marked its 70th anniversary. The men's prize goes to the player judged the year's outstanding performer, and Kane finished ahead of Kylian Mbappé and Lamine Yamal, two of the other leading names in world football. Kane, 33, accepted the award in London, the city where he spent most of his club career before moving to Germany, and said that winning it there made the night extra special.
The award is voted on by journalists from the countries at the top of the FIFA rankings, so the result is read as a verdict from across the game rather than from one league or one country.
Kane's case was built on goals, at a volume few strikers ever reach. He scored 61 goals in 51 games for Bayern Munich across all competitions in the 2025-26 season, as Bayern completed a domestic league and cup double. He then captained England to the semi-finals of the 2026 World Cup, scoring six goals along the way. Put together, it was the most productive season of a career already defined by scoring: a domestic double with his club, a deep World Cup run with his country, and a goalscoring return that led both campaigns.
The prize also closes a long-running story about Kane and trophies. He joined Bayern from Tottenham Hotspur in 2023 after more than 300 matches for the London club, a spell in which he became one of the Premier League's great goalscorers without winning a major trophy there. The move to Germany brought him team silverware, and now it has brought him the individual award that had eluded him for years. For a striker who spent the first decade of his career being described as brilliant but unrewarded, the Ballon d'Or is the missing line on the record.
Kane was not the only winner confirmed by UEFA. Alexia Putellas won the women's Ballon d'Or, her third time winning the award, after a season with Barcelona before her move to London City Lionesses. Lamine Yamal, the Barcelona and Spain winger who finished among the leading contenders for the men's prize, won the men's Young Talent of the Year award, with Vicky López of Barcelona winning the women's equivalent.
Elsewhere, Unai Simón of Athletic Club won the men's Goalkeeper of the Year award and Cata Coll of Barcelona won the women's award. Luis de la Fuente, who led Spain at international level, was named men's Coach of the Year, and Pere Romeu of Barcelona won the women's coaching award. Paris Saint-Germain were named men's Club of the Year and Barcelona the women's Club of the Year, Kane also took the men's Striker of the Year award, Charlyn Corral of Pachuca won the women's striker award, and Arsenal and England forward Bukayo Saka received the Sócrates Award for solidarity work.
An individual award changes nothing about Kane's availability: he is fit, in form and remains Bayern's first-choice striker, so the prize is a landmark rather than a disruption. Bayern's most recent result underlines that point. The day before the ceremony, Bayern won 3-1 away at SC Freiburg in the Bundesliga, a match whose full details, including the goals, cards and lineups, are on the SC Freiburg vs Bayern Munich match page. Kane's next matches will be followed as usual on ScorePulse's live scores, where Bayern's fixtures appear alongside every other major league.
One piece of Bayern context does sit alongside the celebration. Head coach Vincent Kompany is currently sidelined in hospital, as reported in our earlier story, with the club's coaching staff covering in his absence. Kane's award therefore arrives in an unusual week for Bayern: their captain collecting the game's highest individual honour while their coach recovers away from the touchline. Neither fact changes the other, but together they make this a week Bayern supporters will remember.
For Kane himself, the award settles the argument that used to follow him: whether a goalscorer that prolific could ever be called the best player in the world. As of Monday night in London, the answer is official.
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