London, 26 October. Bayern Munich and England striker Harry Kane has won his first Ballon d'Or, the individual award given by the French magazine France Football to the world's best footballer of the season; Kylian Mbappe, Lamine Yamal, Rodri and Lionel Messi completed the top five, the award's organisers said.
The ceremony was held at the London Palladium; the award was presented for the 70th time and, for the first time, outside Paris: London was chosen to mark the 70th anniversary of the first award, won in 1956 by the Englishman Stanley Matthews. Kane is the first Englishman to win the Ballon d'Or in 25 years. In the 2025/26 season, according to Kazinform, he played 51 matches for Bayern, scoring 61 goals and providing seven assists, and won the German league and cup with the club. At the 2026 World Cup England finished third, with Kane scoring six goals.
Kane is the fourth Bayern player to win the award, after Gerd Muller (1970), Franz Beckenbauer (1972 and 1976) and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (1980 and 1981).
All three of his Bayern predecessors were German, so the Munich club's first Ballon d'Or in 45 years has gone to an Englishman.
In the women's category, Spain midfielder Alexia Putellas was named best player, her third Ballon d'Or. She spent the 2025/26 season at Barcelona, winning the Spanish league, the UEFA Champions League, the Spanish Cup and the Super Cup, and in the summer moved to the English club London City Lionesses. Kane also won the Striker of the Year award, Bukayo Saka received the Socrates Award for social work, and Unai Simon and Cata Coll were named best goalkeepers. The best young player award went for the third time to Barcelona's 19-year-old forward Lamine Yamal; another women's award went for the second year running to Barcelona's Vicky Lopez. The best coaches were Luis de la Fuente (Spain national team) and Pere Romeu (Barcelona women), and the clubs of the year were France's PSG for men and Barcelona for women.
What it means: Football's top individual award has gone to a striker who scored more goals for his club than he played matches; England had waited a quarter of a century for it, and Bayern 45 years.
Who benefits: Kane, who wins his first major individual prize at the world's elite level; Bayern, which gets the award back; Spanish women's football and Barcelona, whose dominance is confirmed.
Background: The last Englishman to win the Ballon d'Or before Kane was Michael Owen in 2001. In the 2025/26 season Kane scored 73 goals for Bayern and England combined, a tally no one has matched since Lionel Messi scored 82 in 2011/12.
