JULES BREACH: Harry Kane has had the season of his life and deserves to become the first Englishman since Michael Owen to win the Ballon d’Or
Harry Kane has had the greatest season of his career and deserves to win the 2026 Ballon d’Or. After an exceptional year, the 33-year-old striker has every right to be honoured with the most prestigious individual award in football.
Whether it’s based on numbers, trophies, performances or standout achievements, Kane has reached new levels. He scored a staggering 73 goals for club and country in 2025-26. It’s a number some players can only dream of achieving in their whole career, let alone in a single season.
To do that in just 65 matches makes it even more incredible. The numbers almost sound unbelievable, they’re so outlandish. To put them into context, it is the most goals any player has scored in a single season in the modern era except for one occasion: when Lionel Messi hit 82 goals in 69 matches in 2011-12. The Argentine would pick up the Ballon d’Or that year.
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Kane’s goalscoring feats helped Bayern Munich to the domestic treble, the first time the club have lifted three trophies in a campaign since he joined. To finish off an astonishing year, he then captained England to a bronze medal at the World Cup, which is the Three Lions’ best finish ever on foreign soil.
While other players may have won bigger team honours, when it comes to recognising an individual, there has been no player in better form than Kane. That is also outlined by him breaking a 49-year Bundesliga record this year, by reaching the 100-goal mark in just 98 matches – comfortably clear of the 129 games it took Dieter Muller to hit a century.
What Kane achieved in this last year is simply mind-blowing. Many questioned his decision to play in Germany, but it has been a pivotal move for his career. The 2023 switch has taken him to another level, as proven with the records broken and trophies won in Munich.
Kane is a natural finisher and his goalscoring is as good as we’ve ever seen. He’s a player that makes the most of every chance he gets and scores all types of goals from absolutely everywhere. He’s the type of striker that you just expect to score in every game, and the majority of the time he delivers. He’s prolific, but it’s also the quality of the goals that make him special.
On the biggest stage this summer, Kane scored a sensational goal against the Democratic Republic of the Congo – a lethal strike that helped save England’s World Cup. The combination of power, strength, accuracy and technique he showed in that moment are skills you see him applying in the Champions League and Bundesliga regularly. His ability to perform this consistently at the highest level is outstanding.
And it’s not just his ridiculous scoring numbers. His all-round play and ability to bring other players into the game has become even more evident recently, and why England manager Thomas Tuchel describes him as the “full package”.
Time and time again, Kane continues to write his name in the history books for both club and country, yet every single record he breaks, you never expect him to just stop there. You expect him to add to that goal tally and to reach a new height – despite that, he remains humble and driven to keep striving for more.
Kane’s journey is inspirational and embodies what hard work and determination can help you achieve. At the age of 19, he was struggling to make an impact on loan at Norwich and went on to a spell at Leicester, before a return to Spurs saw his career really begin to flourish. He is an example for any young player to aspire to, as he’s now remarkably hit his peak in his 30s.
Kane is a true global superstar of this sport who deserves every bit of praise that comes his way. He’s now adding to his trophy haul with every season, and the biggest individual award in world football should belong to him too.
Michael Owen was the last Englishman to win the Ballon d’Or, 25 years ago, so it’s about time another was honoured. It’s pretty cool that the best number nine on the planet right now is English. With the ceremony being held in London, Kane’s birthplace, on October 26, he couldn’t be a more fitting winner. I believe Harry Kane deserves to win the Ballon d’Or this year – he’s earned it.
