HARRY KANE WINS THE 2026 BALLON D'OR

Harry Kane won the 2026 Ballon d'Or on Monday night at the London Palladium, ending a 25 year wait for an English winner that began after Michael Owen took the award in 2001. The Bayern Munich striker arrived in London as the clear favorite and left with the biggest individual prize in world football, at the first Ballon d'Or ceremony ever held outside France.

Kane's Best Season

Kane scored 61 goals for Bayern Munich across the 2025 to 2026 season and won the Bundesliga and the German Cup. He added six goals at the World Cup as England reached the semifinals. No man scored more over the season, which earned him the Gerd Müller Trophy earlier in the night, and his line from that stage summed up the case. "This has been the best season of my career," he said.

For years Kane was the great striker without the great trophies, and he left Tottenham for Bayern in 2023 without a major one to his name. He finally won them in Germany, and now he has the one individual award that had always gone to someone else.

Yamal and Mbappé Came Up Short

Kane beat two players with strong cases of their own. Lamine Yamal had 24 goals and 18 assists for Barcelona, won a second straight La Liga title and lifted the World Cup with Spain, and at 19 he would have been the youngest winner in the award's history. Kylian Mbappé scored 42 goals for Real Madrid and won the World Cup Golden Boot with 10 goals, but France finished fourth and Madrid ended the season without a trophy. In the end the voters rewarded the season's top scorer, and the wait was over.

Spain Owned the Night

Before the main award, the evening already belonged to Spain. The national team won the World Cup this summer, beating Argentina in the final on a goal from Ferran Torres, and Rodri left the tournament with the Golden Ball before signing with Barcelona. Luis de la Fuente was named men's coach of the year, Athletic Club goalkeeper Unai Simón took the men's goalkeeper award, and Lamine Yamal won the young talent award for the third year in a row.

The women's side ran through Barcelona. Vicky López won the women's young talent award, Cata Coll was named the best goalkeeper, Pere Romeu won coach of the year and Barcelona took club of the year.

Alexia Putellas Wins Her Third

Alexia Putellas won the women's Ballon d'Or for the third time, after back to back wins in 2021 and 2022. It is the sixth straight year a Spanish player has won the award, a run Putellas started and Aitana Bonmatí extended with three wins in a row from 2023 through 2025. No country has owned the women's award like this before.

Corral, Saka and the Rest of the Winners

Kane's Gerd Müller Trophy came earlier in the night, and he said on stage that he had won three trophies with Bayern Munich this season. It was a fitting prize for a player who has talked about kicking in the NFL and finishing in MLS, but who spent this season doing the one thing he has always done best. Mexico's Charlyn Corral of Pachuca won the women's striker award.

Bukayo Saka received the Sócrates Award for his work off the pitch. PSG was named men's club of the year after winning the Champions League for the second straight season, and the club placed ten players among the 30 men's nominees.

The lower places in the men's ranking were revealed through the day. Declan Rice finished 15th, Vitinha 14th and Achraf Hakimi 13th, while Nuno Mendes was 23rd and Marquinhos 25th.

First Ceremony Outside France

This was the 70th Ballon d'Or and the first ceremony ever held outside France, staged at the London Palladium with Kate Scott and Thierry Henry hosting. France Football first handed out the trophy in 1956. This year's award covered the season from August 3, 2025 to July 19, 2026, which put the World Cup inside the voting window. Michael Owen, the last English winner before tonight, was on stage to present the final two awards. The show started late, at 4:45 p.m. Eastern, and the men's award came last of all.