Harry Kane made a strong statement just a few days before the Ballon d’Or ceremony. The FC Bayern striker was named the best soccer player of the 2025–26 season by the Spanish sports newspaper MARCA. What’s particularly noteworthy is that the 33-year-old edged out Lamine Yamal, who, along with Kane, is considered one of the top favorites for the Ballon d’Or.

The award is likely to fuel even more anticipation for the English national team player. After all, the Ballon d’Or will be awarded as early as next Monday. Whether Kane will also come out on top in that vote, however, remains to be seen.

In the voting for the so-called “100 MARCA” Award, the Bayern star prevailed against formidable competition. A total of 226 jury members participated in the vote, including journalists from Spain and other countries, as well as former professional soccer players and coaches.

Kane wins by a hair over Yamal

The result at the top was incredibly close. Kane secured first place with 3,962 points. Barcelona star Lamine Yamal finished in second place with 3,937 points. This means the two top favorites for the Ballon d’Or were separated by just 25 points.

Real Madrid star Kylian Mbappé followed in third place with 3,440 points. Behind him were Rodri, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, and Lionel Messi.

Another Bayern player also made it into the top ten players of last season: Michael Olise finished eighth in the voting.

The French national team player thus edged out, among others, Ousmane Dembélé and Pau Cubarsí, who finished in ninth and tenth place, respectively.

For FC Bayern, the result is quite remarkable. With Kane and Olise, two players from the German record champions are among the top ten in the MARCA poll.

Kane joins a distinguished list of winners

The award is particularly interesting in light of the upcoming Ballon d’Or gala. Kane and Yamal have been touted for weeks as promising candidates for the prestigious Ballon d’Or. The fact that the Bayern striker prevailed over the Barcelona youngster of all people in the Spanish sports newspaper’s poll is therefore likely to draw additional attention.

However, the “100 MARCA” Award is a standalone honor. The voting therefore does not allow for any reliable predictions about the outcome of the Ballon d’Or vote.

Nevertheless, with this victory, Kane joins a distinguished list of winners. In recent years, the award has gone to Karim Benzema (2021–22), Erling Haaland (2022–23), Vinícius Júnior (2023–24), and Lamine Yamal (2024–25).

Now the Bayern striker follows in the footsteps of the young Spaniard.

Things could get even better for Kane within a few days. The Ballon d’Or ceremony is set for Monday, where the Englishman can hope to win the most prestigious individual award of his career.

This article was translated into English by AI. You can read the original version here https://fcbinside.de/2026/10/23/fingerzeig-fuer-den-ballon-dor-kane-sticht-yamal-bei-prestigetraechtiger-wahl-aus/.