Bayern Munich’s all-round forward Harry Kane became the first English recipient of the men’s Ballon d’Or since Michael Owen’s feat in 2001 on a night of great drama.

There are so few real surprises in modern soccer.

Every official confirmation of a major transfer is prefaced by countless reports detailing each stage of the negotiation. Managerial shortlists are similarly well documented while even starting lineups are leaked on a regular basis.

In this context of dispensed suspense, the Ballon d’Or offers a point of difference. The organizing body behind the most prestigious individual accolade in the sport prides itself on secrecy, with even most of those who work within the offices of France Football kept in the dark.

Even when it looked as though the Ballon d’Or’s official website had inadvertently leaked the winner by uploading a congratulatory article announcing Kane’s triumph, it soon emerged that Kylian Mbappé and Lamine Yamal had been given the same treatment. Those on the site team were just like everyone else, completely unaware of the winner and had prepared accordingly. Unfortunately, somehow their prep work got published.

In the end, it was Kane whose article had to be hurriedly republished.

Harry Kane’s Unrivaled Numbers Get Their Reward

Amid the slew of Ballon d’Or campaigning in the buildup to Monday’s ceremony, Yamal struck upon a bone of contention. The Barcelona star’s underlying argument was that numbers should not be the defining factor of this award. “I think the Ballon d’Or should go to the best player in the world, full stop. Not to a player who has scored 80 goals,” he scoffed.

“If you score 80 goals, you get the top scorer award for that. Those are two completely different things that people do not understand.”

Those words were interpreted as a not-so-subtle dig at Kane, who ended the 2025–26 season with a frankly ridiculous 73 goals for club and country. Those are staggering figures, the likes of which European soccer has only ever seen produced by a peak Lionel Messi.

Yet, to boil the Bayern Munich talisman down to nothing more than his sack of strikes does the all-rounder a gross disservice.

Most Goals Ever Scored in a Single League Season

1. Lionel Messi (2011–12): 82
2. Harry Kane (2025–26): 73
3. Gerd Müller (1972–73): 72
4. Cristiano Ronaldo (2014–15): 66
5. Cristiano Ronaldo (2011–12): 66
6. Ronaldo (1996–97): 66
7. Lionel Messi (2012–13): 64
8. Erling Haaland (2022–23): 64
9. Luis Suárez (2015–16): 64
10. Gerd Müller (1971–72): 62

Stats via Transfermarkt. Only applies to players in Europe’s top five leagues.

Kane is as much a facilitator as a finisher. Only three players in the entire Bundesliga created more Opta-defined “big chances” than the most prolific striker on the planet. Just 14.8% of Kane’s touches were inside the penalty area for Bayern last season—Erling Haaland for comparison, averaged 26.8%—as the No. 9 roamed everywhere a traditional center forward would hate to venture. Popping up as a No. 10, in defensive midfield or even fullback, there is an omnipresence to Kane’s game. In the recent thrilling Champions League draw with Arsenal, he even took a goal kick to set up a glaring chance.

Bayern Munich boss Vincent Kompany is openly in awe of a player who has improved immeasurably since he came up against him during his days at Manchester City. “He has become better with age,” the manager gushed, hailing his Benjamin Button striker as “a top player who wants to run and fight for the team like a youth player.”

The 33-year-old had the nerves of school kid on a night which would end with that childlike wonder after such a close race.

Lamine Yamal Still Has Time on His Side

“I told my friends I don’t dream of winning one Ballon d’Or,” Yamal revealed ahead of last year’s ceremony. “I dream of winning many.” For now, it will remain the stuff of dreams.

Time is on Yamal’s side in that regard. No player in the 70-year history of the Ballon d’Or has ever claimed the ultimate individual accolade before the age of 21. Yamal will still be a teenager at the end of this season.

It’s easy to forget quite how junior Yamal is. Given all that he has achieved and the importance bestowed upon him by Spain and Barcelona, it seems inconceivable that his compatriot Xavi Espart, the latest precocious young find from La Masia who made his Champions League debut just last week, is 53 days older than Yamal.

• Ronaldo Nazário (1997): 21 years and 92 days
• Michael Owen (2001): 22 years and 4 days
• Lionel Messi (2009): 22 years and 160 days
• George Best (1968): 22 years and 212 days
• Oleg Blokhin (1975): 23 years and 55 days

While he may not have been at his absolute peak for Spain during the World Cup, Yamal sacrificed his individual freedom for the greater collective, often acting as a decoy to create space for right back Pedro Porro. It was that type of interchange down the right which led to Ferran Torres’s winner in the final against Argentina.

The simple act of claiming the biggest trophy available is so often enough at the Ballon d’Or. Since the start of the 1990s, only two players— Hristo Stoichkov in 1994 and Lionel Messi in 2010—have won the Ballon d’Or in a World Cup year without winning the international tournament or the Champions League.

Kylian Mbappe’s Ballon d’Or Plight Drags on One More Year

“The Ballon d’Or, to me, is a true barometer,” Mbappé told France Football in one of the many interviews he’s given the publication that hands out the prize he has so openly craved for years.

“Just look at the list of winners—there are no outsiders or frauds. Each in their own way, they’ve all left their mark on soccer history. There may sometimes be debate about the year they won, but never about their intrinsic qualities. They’re nothing but legends.”

Despite his deep affection for a popularity contest conducted by an eclectic group of journalists, Mbappé has never been able to count himself among that illustrious pool of legends.

Mbappé has finished in the top 10 of voting nine times; every year since he was first nominated as a raw teenager back in 2017. The three-time winner of the award, Marco van Basten, only cracked single digits in voting on five occasions. Yet, that illustrious triumph had always evaded him. “I remain convinced that the hardest part is winning the first one,” he unsurprisingly claimed.

As Kane can attest, it can take a long time to get to the top.