Some screenwriters would not dare write an ending like this. For the first time in its history, the Ballon d’Or left Paris to be presented in London. And on Monday night, at the London Palladium, it was an Englishman who lifted it: Harry Kane, 33, becomes the first player from his country to win it since Michael Owen in 2001.
An extraordinary season
The Bayern Munich striker was rewarded for the best season of his career: 73 goals in all competitions for club and country, a German league title with the club coached by Belgian Vincent Kompany, and third place at the 2026 World Cup as England captain. As Europe’s top scorer, he also took home the Gerd Müller Trophy.
He finished ahead of Kylian Mbappé in second and Lamine Yamal in third, at the end of a race long considered wide open. Kane thus succeeds Ousmane Dembélé, winner of the 2025 edition.
From “trophyless” to the summit
The story has a redemptive quality. Long mocked for winning nothing with Tottenham, Kane moved to another level when he joined Bayern three years ago. He also became the all-time top scorer for the England national team, with 91 goals in 125 matches. Until now, he had never finished higher than tenth in the Ballon d’Or rankings.
With this trophy, he joins a very exclusive club: Stanley Matthews (1956), Bobby Charlton (1966), Kevin Keegan (1978 and 1979) and Michael Owen (2001) were until now the only Englishmen to have won it.
A night of fervour
Outside the famous West End theatre, crowds packed the streets, with some fans even climbing lamp posts. The ceremony, hosted by Thierry Henry and journalist Kate Scott, started half an hour late, before chants in Harry’s honour rang out in the hall at the moment of his coronation.
In the women’s award, Spain’s Alexia Putellas, now with London City Lionesses, claimed her third Ballon d’Or. A decidedly London night.
Sources : Franceinfo, ESPN, NPR, Sortiraparis
Photo: Panhard / CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons
