Harry Kane Targets Ballon d’Or as England’s First Winner Since Michael Owen

Harry Kane’s extraordinary 2025-26 return has placed him at the forefront of the Ballon d’Or race, with the England captain aiming to become the first English winner of the award since Michael Owen in 2001. Kane scored 61 times for Bayern Munich and added 12 goals for his country as he secured a second Bundesliga title.

Key takeaways

• Kane finished the season with 73 goals for club and country, a total surpassed only by Lionel Messi’s career-best campaign of 82.
• The Bayern striker is competing with Kylian Mbappe, Lamine Yamal, Michael Olise and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia for the individual prize.
• Rodri and Ousmane Dembele remain candidates after winning the World Cup and Champions League respectively in 2026.
• The Ballon d’Or ceremony is scheduled for October 26 at the London Palladium Theatre.
• Only four English players have previously won the award: Stanley Matthews, Bobby Charlton, Kevin Keegan and Michael Owen.

Kane’s season puts England back in the conversation

Kane’s 73-goal campaign is higher than Cristiano Ronaldo’s best single-season total of 69, although Messi’s 82 remains the benchmark. The scale of those numbers has made Kane a serious contender in a year expected to produce a new winner.

He has acknowledged that the final decision will rest with the voting panel, while insisting his attention has already turned towards improving again this season. Kane described the previous campaign as the finest of his career and said he is pleased to be in contention, even with the debate around the prize shaped by different views of what makes a player exceptional.

For Kane, a Ballon d’Or would complete a journey from supporter to elite professional. He said that, having once watched the game as a fan dreaming of becoming a footballer, he now finds himself competing for the sport’s biggest individual honours.

Michael Owen believes Kane has a strong opportunity to end England’s long wait. Owen, the 2001 recipient, said the field appears open but viewed Kane as having an excellent chance after his prolific season for Bayern and England.

England’s long Ballon d’Or wait

England have supplied numerous players who reached the final three without lifting the Golden Ball. Billy Wright, Duncan Edwards, Johnny Haynes, Jimmy Greaves, Bobby Moore, Gary Lineker, Alan Shearer, David Beckham, Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard and Jude Bellingham all came close.

The country’s four winners span the award’s history. Matthews claimed the first Ballon d’Or in 1956, Charlton followed after England’s World Cup success, and Keegan won in consecutive years in 1978 and 1979 before Owen’s victory 25 years ago.

That gap has been extended by the dominance Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo enjoyed over a 15-year stretch, when they collected 13 awards between them. Messi won eight times, the most in the competition’s history. With Rodri and Dembele taking the last two awards, Kane now has the chance to return an English name to the top of the global game.