England striker Harry Kane won the men's 2026 Ballon d'Or in London on Monday after a remarkable 73-goal season for club and country.
The 33-year-old Bayern Munich centre-forward finished ahead of France captain Kylian Mbappe to take the award for the first time in his career, succeeding last year's winner Ousmane Dembele.
Kane secured the trophy on Monday, 26 October after finishing as the leading goalscorer across European football last season. He scored 61 goals for Bayern Munich and added 12 goals for England, who finished third at the World Cup.
Speaking after receiving the prize in London, Kane admitted that voters faced a difficult choice because he was competing against world-class footballers throughout the campaign.
The forward paid tribute to his teammates at Bayern Munich, giving special credit to French defender Dayot Upamecano. Kane smiled as he explained that he would never have won the award without them, adding that training against Upamecano made him a better player.
Kane described playing for Bayern Munich as an honour and a genuine privilege, stating that he felt proud to bring the trophy back to the German club. He expressed the same gratitude to his international teammates, adding that it was a real honour to serve as England captain.
Ballon d'Or voting results
Mbappe claimed second place in the voting, while Spanish world champion Lamine Yamal completed the podium in third.
Manchester City midfielder Rodri finished in fourth place, ranking immediately ahead of Argentina forward Lionel Messi in fifth.
Dembele took seventh place, finishing one position behind his Paris Saint-Germain teammate Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. The Georgian international placed sixth as the highest-ranked player from the French champions. Michael Olise finished ninth, ensuring three French players finished inside the top ten.
Kane also collected the prize for top scorer of the year, sharing the scoring honour with Mexican forward Charlyn Corral of Pachuca.
Alexia Putellas won the women's Ballon d'Or. The Spain international received the award after playing for Barcelona and later joining London City Lionesses.
Full list of award winners
Barcelona dominated several other categories at the ceremony. Yamal shared the young player of the year award with Vicky Lopez of the Barcelona women's team. Barcelona women's coach Pere Romeu shared the coach of the year honour with Spain manager Luis De La Fuente.
Cata Coll of Barcelona women and Unai Simon took the goalkeeper of the year awards. Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona women shared the club of the year prize, while Arsenal and England forward Bukayo Saka received the Socrates Award in recognition of his humanitarian work.
The Ballon d'Or has been presented annually by the French publication France Football since 1956 and is regarded as the most prestigious individual prize in world football. The award celebrates the finest players across the globe, judged on their achievements, individual performances and sportsmanship over the preceding season.
Kane joined Bayern Munich in 2023 after spending over a decade at Tottenham Hotspur, where he became the club's all-time top scorer. The striker has maintained his prolific scoring form in the German Bundesliga, continuing to lead his national team as England's record international goalscorer.
