England star Harry Kane wins first Ballon d'Or
· Yahoo Sports
Harry Kane is king.
The England national team and Bayern Munich star was named the winner of the 70th Ballon d'Or on Monday, Oct. 26, earning the France Football prize given to the best individual player in world soccer.
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It is a first Ballon d'Or for a player who has been considered among the world's best for several years.
The win comes after Kane dominated the Bundesliga, scoring 36 goals in 31 matches to help Bayern Munich to the 2025-26 German league title. Bayern fell in the semifinals of the UEFA Champions League to eventual winner Paris Saint-Germain, but Kane also had 14 goals in 13 matches - including at least one goal in both legs of the quarterfinals against Real Madrid and the semifinals against PSG.
He also scored six goals and chipped in an assist for England as the Three Lions earned a third-place finish at the 2026 World Cup.
While his scoring would've been enough to win the prize most years, the 33-year-old also has become a player that is more than simply a traditional forward, sometimes slotting into a playmaking role for both club and country and dropping deep to contribute to the team's defensive effort.
Kane was awarded the trophy in London, his hometown and the city where he played more than 300 matches for Tottenham Hotspur between 2009 and 2023 - though he infamously left Spurs without lifting a trophy. He now has a pair of Bundesliga titles, the DFB-Pokal and, as of Monday, the sport's top individual award to his name.
The ceremony took place at London's Palladium in honor of the 70th anniversary of Stanley Matthews being named the first winner of the prize. He beat France star Kylian Mbappe and Spain star Lamine Yamal to the prize.
The award is voted on by a panel of journalists from each of the top 100 countries in the FIFA rankings. After Argentina star Lionel Messi and Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo won all but two of the awards between 2008 and 2023, the award has entered a new era in which the winner is far less certain.
Rodri was the winner in 2024, while Ousmane Dembélé was awarded the prize last year.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: England star Harry Kane wins first Ballon d'Or