Harry Kane has explained the meaning behind a quote he shared after winning the 2026 Ballon d’Or on Tuesday night.

Kane secured the highlight and arguably missing piece of his career at a lavish ceremony in London, becoming the first English player to win the award in 25 years after Michael Owen’s victory in 2001.

Kane, who scored 73 goals for club and country last season, with his 61 goals in 51 club games a new Bayern record for a single campaign, took to social media after being confirmed as the winner, sharing the quote: “Work hard in silence. Let success be your noise.”

After a build-up to the ceremony, which saw fellow contenders Lamine Yamal and Kylian Mbappe offer interviews and views on the award and their own case to succeed Ousmane Dembele, Kane largely remained quiet.

And his quote was interpreted by some as a message about the manner in which he approached Tuesday’s ceremony, but Kane has now clarified the meaning behind the quote.

"It was a quote I lived by for a lot of my career, it sums up my story,” Kane told Sky Sports after sharing the quote on his social media in the immediate aftermath of the ceremony in London.

“I like to do the work behind the scenes. Sometimes when noone is watching is the best time to improve, let everything else explode on the pitch. There is no better way to do that than win this award."

Kane admitted he has needed patience in his career, with a career-highlight arriving at 33 years of age. Kane overcome four loan spells away from Tottenham before establishing himself as one of the club’s greatest players across a prolific 10-year spell, only to secure a big move to Bayern in 2023, which has seen his game reach an even higher level.

“I had to bide my time and work hard,” Kane said. “A lot of times it was me against my own mind and I had to come through it, I had to show self-belief, determination.”