London, 27 Oct

Harry Kane became the first Englishman in 25 years to win the Ballon d'Or thanks to his prolific scoring last season.

Kane scored 73 goals for club and country last campaign — he was Europe's top scorer — and smashed scoring records in Germany for Bayern Munich and at the World Cup, where he captained England to a third-place finish.

The 33-year-old Kane says winning the prestigious individual award was built on so much more.

“Anything is possible with hard work, when no one else is watching, to go through the ups and downs, to learn through resilience, determination and self-belief,” an emotional Kane said in a message to young players, after reflecting on his early career struggles.

“My journey wasn't straightforward. I wasn't the kid who went straight to the top. I had to experience the downs,” he added. “I had to fight my way to be the very best right now. I hope that can give you inspiration as well.”

Kane was followed in the voting by Kylian Mbappe, Lamine Yamal — voted best young talent for a third straight year — 2024 winner Rodri and record eight-time winner Lionel Messi.

Kane led Bayern to the Bundesliga and German Cup double, scoring a hat trick against Stuttgart in the cup final. Bayern also reached the Champions League semifinals.

At the World Cup, he scored six times to pass Gary Lineker as England's all-time leading World Cup scorer and placed himself among the all-time top five in tournament history. His lineup lost to Argentina in the semifinals but beat Mbappé's France for third place, England's best World Cup placing in 60 years.

An Englishman hadn't won the Ballon d'Or since Michael Owen in 2001.

Earlier, Spain star Alexia Putellas won her record-equaling third women's Ballon d'Or after leading her former club Barcelona to multiple trophies last season including the Women's Champions League.

Putellas, who joined London City Lionesses in the offseason, also helped Spain win the Women's Nations League last December.

The 32-year-old midfielder ended Spain teammate Aitana Bonmati's three-year reign.

Putellas won the prestigious award in 2021 and 2022, tore her ACL and saw Bonmati rise to stardom. Bonmati, who completed her women's Ballon d'Or three-peat in 2025, was not on this year's shortlist after breaking her leg in December.

Ballon d'Or 'winners' published by mistake hours before men's award

Organizers of the Ballon d'Or event mistakenly published multiple “winners” of the men's award on its website Monday hours before the ceremony. One announcement read, in part, “Harry Kane wins 2026 Ballon d'Or” — and similar articles described Lamine Yamal and Kylian Mbappé also winning. It turned out the organizer France Football had prepared many announcements — to be ready for when the winner is announced — but they were accidentally posted well ahead of the gala at The London Palladium. PTI