Harry Kane enters football's elite with maiden Ballon d'Or triumph
What's the story
The biggest names in world football gathered for the prestigious Ballon d'Or 2026 ceremony. The 70th Ballon d'Or ceremony took place at the London Palladium, England. For the first time in the history of the award, the ceremony was held outside of France. England and Bayern Munich ace Harry Kane has won the Ballon d'Or 2026. He edged past Kylian Mbappe and Lamine Yamal, who finished 2nd and 3rd, respectively.
Kane
Kane's trophy wins and numbers in 2025-26
Kane managed to win the Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal and German Supercup with Bayern Munich in 2025-26.
He also finished 3rd at FIFA World Cup 2026 and collected a bronze medal.
Kane scored 61 goals in 51 games for Bayern across competitions. He also made 7 assists.
For England, he made 14 appearances and managed 12 goals (A1).
Bayern
His numbers for Bayern
The 2026 Ballon d'Or eligibility window is between August 3, 2025 to July 19, 2026.
Kane scored a historic 73 goals and made 8 assists in 65 matches for club and country.
For Bayern, he scored 36 Bundesliga goals (A5).
He scored 10 goals in DFB-Pokal. In the UEFA Champions League, he scored 14 goals (A2).
In the German Supercup, he scored one goal.
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His numbers for England
For England, Kane scored six FIFA World Cup goals (A1). He scored 5 World Cup qualifying goals during Ballon d'Or eligibility window. He scored one friendly goal as well. In total, he made 14 appearances for England and clocked 12 goals and 1 assist.
Words
Wow. I'm speechless, says Ballon d'Or winner Kane
"Wow. I'm speechless. Lucky I have this list here. Thank you to France Football, the Ballon d'Or for putting on this amazing event. Being in London is extra special, it was like a good omen for me tonight," said Kane.
"To [Vincent Kompany], I think he's still in the hospital and I hope he's OK, I hope this has given him a bit of energy."
Twitter Post
Kane!
HARRY KANE IS THE NEW BALLON D'OR! #ballondor pic.twitter.com/jEn8E1bLEF
— Ballon d'Or (@ballondor) October 26, 2026
Comparison
What about Mbappe and Yamal? Decoding their stats
Real Madrid and France's Mbappe played 60 games for club and country during the Ballon d'Or eligibility window.
He scored 58 goals and made 13 assists.
On the other hand, Barcelona and Spain's teenager Yamal managed 25 goals and 25 assists from 57 appearances.
Mbappe, who won the top-scorer award in La Liga, Champions League and World Cup, failed to win a team honor.
Yamal won La Liga and Spanish Supercup with Barcelona besides FIFA World Cup trophy with Spain.
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Men's Ballon d'Or top 10
Men's Ballon d'Or top 10: 1) Harry Kane 2) Kylian Mbappe 3) Lamine Yamal 4) Rodri 5) Lionel Messi 6) Khvicha Kvaratskhelia 7) Ousmane Dembele 8) Erling Haaland 9) Michael Olise 10) Fabian Ruiz.
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Yamal and Lopez win Young Talent of the Year awards
Barcelona's Yamal won the Men's Young Talent of the Year for a third consecutive year. Yamal beat his Barca teammate Pau Cubarsí for the award. Barcelona and Spain star Vicky Lopez scooped the Women's Young Talent of the Year award for the second year running.
Do you know?
Luis de la Fuente and Pere Romeu are best coaches
2026 FIFA World Cup-winning coach Luis de la Fuente took home the prize for Men's Coach of the Year. Meanwhile, Barcelona Women head coach Pere Romeu was named Women's Coach of the Year.
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Simon and Coll win best goalkeeper awards
Spain's World Cup-winning goalkeeper Unai Simon was named Men's Goalkeeper of the Year. Across 8 games, he managed to keep seven clean sheets and conceded only one goal. Meanwhile, Barcelona and Spain goalkeeper Cata Coll won Women's Goalkeeper of the Year award.
Saka
Bukayo Saka wins the Socrates award
Arsenal's Bukayo Saka bagged the Socrates award.
Saka is the 5th recipient of an award that celebrates footballers' achievements off the field.
As per Sky Sports News, Saka was honored for his work partnering with BigShoe to fund 120 life-changing medical operations for children in Kano, Nigeria.
Saka's work included funding critical medical surgeries for underprivileged children in Nigeria and sponsoring full education scholarships for youth across multiple African nations.
Duo
Barcelona Femini and PSG win Club of the Year awards
Quadruple-winning Barcelona Femini won the Women's Club of the Year award.
Barcelona Femini bagged UEFA Women's Champions League, Liga F, Copa de la Reina and Supercopa de Espana Femenina.
Paris Saint-Germain won Men's Club of the Year after claiming back-to-back Champions League trophies.
The injured Ousmane Dembele was on stage to collect the award.
PSG claimed this prize for the second year running.
Do you know?
Kane and Corral win Striker of the Year awards
Kane bagged the Men's Striker of the Year award for his 73 goals for club and country. This award is solely based on statistics. Meanwhile, Mexico and Pachuca's Charlyn Corral won Women's Striker of the Year, becoming the first Mexican player to win an award at the Ballon d'Or ceremony.
Putellas
Alexia Putellas wins her 3rd Women's Ballon d'Or award
Alexia Putellas won the Women's Ballon d'Or award.
Barcelona Femini and Spain midfielder played 53 games for club and country.
She scored 26 goals and bagged 15 assists.
She bagged five honors, including four with Barcelona Femini.
With Spain, she bagged the UEFA Women's Nations League in December 2025.
Notably, she has bagged the honor for a record-equaling third time.
Twitter Post
Alexia Putellas!
ALEXIA PUTELLAS! SHE DID IT! She is our 2026 Ballon d'Or winner!#ballondor pic.twitter.com/hctM4DvwuB
— Ballon d'Or (@ballondor) October 26, 2026