- Published
Harry Kane has become the first English player to win the Ballon d'Or since Michael Owen in 2001 after being crowned the world's best player at a ceremony in London.
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Kane → publish → London
The 33-year-old Bayern Munich striker is the fifth Englishman to win in total, with Stanley Matthews (1956), Bobby Charlton (1966) and Kevin Keegan (1978 and 1979) the others.
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striker → win → others
Kane scored 61 goals in 51 club matches last season, the most a Bayern player has ever struck in one campaign.
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player → score → campaign
Including England matches, it was 73 goals - plus eight assists - in 65 matches.
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it → include → matches
Only one player at a club in Europe's top five leagues has ever scored more goals in a season.
But he wins it despite not lifting either of football's biggest prizes last season, having lost in both the World Cup and Champions League semi-finals.
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he → score → finals
Remarkably the Three Lions captain becomes the first Bayern player to win the Ballon d'Or since Karl-Heinz Rummenigge in 1981.
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captain → become → 1981
BBC Sport looks at why Kane won it and how unusual it is to do so without securing one of those major trophies.
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it → look → trophies
Kane's record-breaking 2025-26 season
In term of trophies, Kane may have 'only' lifted the German double last season.
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Kane → break → double
But that more than doubled his career trophy total - having also won the Bundesliga the season before.
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that → double → Bundesliga
But in terms of individual output Kane - whose previous best Ballon d'Or finish was 10th - was unmatched last season.
His 61 goals in all competitions for Bayern was 19 more than any other player in Europe's top five leagues managed.
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goals → manage → leagues
In fact it was the most anyone has recorded since Cristiano Ronaldo also notched 61 for Real Madrid 11 years ago.
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Ronaldo → record → Madrid
In the Champions League he scored 14 for the beaten semi-finalists.
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he → score → finalists
In the German Cup he scored 10 goals, including a hat-trick in the 3-0 win over Stuttgart in the final, and he also netted once in the German Super Cup.
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he → score → Cup
No player has ever scored so many goals in a season for Bayern, a club who have had legendary goalscorers like Gerd Muller, Rummenigge and more recently Robert Lewandowski in their ranks.
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who → score → ranks
Kane's 12 goals for England last season - including six at the World Cup - take him up a total of 73.
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goals → include → 73
Only one player in history from Europe's top leagues has scored more in a season, Lionel Messi's 82 for Barcelona and Argentina in 2011-12.
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player → score → 2011
Former England striker Alan Shearer recently told BBC Sport: "The winner of the Ballon d'Or should be Harry Kane.
"
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winner → tell → d'Or
For that reason, he should get it."
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he → get → it
Another ex-Three Lions player Danny Murphy added: "His goalscoring has been relentless, brilliant.
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goalscoring → add → ?
He's had one of the best seasons of his career and it'll be a great reward for him if he gets the trophy.
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he → have → trophy
"He's been brilliant at Bayern Munich since he's been there, adapted really well and he's been the best centre forward in the world for the last 12 months."
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he → adapt → months
The Ballon d'Or was only available to European players from its formation in 1956 until 1995 when it was opened up to everyone.
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it → open → everyone
Since then in four of the seven World Cup years, the Ballon d'Or has been awarded to a world champion - including Messi in 2023 (as the 2022 World Cup was in the winter).
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Cup → award → winter
However, that was the first time since 2006 it had happened, with Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Luka Modric all winning since then despite not winning the World Cup that year.
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Messi → happen → Cup
This is only the fifth time in the past 20 years that the Ballon d'Or has not gone to a player who has won either the World Cup, the Champions League or a European Championship/Copa America - with Kane joining Messi (three times) and Ronaldo.
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Kane → go → Messi
Lamine Yamal, who won the World Cup with Spain, had been one of the favourites but lost out to Kane.
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who → win → Kane
Last year, winning the Champions League helped PSG and France's Dembele to the crown.
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winning → win → crown
Could Kane make it two in a row?
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it → make → row
Kane may have just won the Ballon d'Or but some are already wondering if he is in a good place to retain it next year.
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he → win → it
The striker has scored 10 goals in his opening 12 games for Bayern this season.
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striker → score → Bayern
Throw in six goals in four Nations League games for England and that is a total of 16 in 16 matches so far.
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that → throw → matches
If they were to win a Treble - and Kane keeps scoring at about a goal a game - it would be tough to look past him, especially in a season with no World Cup, European Championship or Copa America.
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it → win → Cup
The last player other than Messi or Ronaldo to win it two years in a row was Marco van Basten in 1988 and 1989.
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player → win → 1988
However, Lamine Yamal will be hoping to make it third time lucky after finishing second twice in two years.
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Yamal → hop → years
He has started the season in electric form, with 10 goals and 10 assists in 13 games for Barcelona in La Liga and the Champions League.
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He → start → Liga
And Barca are currently favourites to win the Champions League, which could ultimately end up being a deciding factor.
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which → win → League
He would be the youngest player to win the Ballon d'Or winner - aged 20 - if he does lift it next year.
Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe will also fancy his chances of winning for the first time, with 14 goals in 13 appearances for club and country.
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Mbappe → win → club
The youngest winner remains Brazilian Ronaldo, who was 21 when he won in 1997.
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he → remain → 1997
Arsenal, who have never had a Ballon d'Or winner, and Paris St-Germain are two of the other frontrunners to win the Champions League.
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who → have → League
The Aporia
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