Harry Kane, Bayern Munich striker and captain of the England national team, was named the winner of the 70th Ballon d’Or. He received the award on Monday, 26 October, at a gala in London’s Palladium, becoming the fifth Englishman in history to win it.
Kane ahead of Mbappé and Yamal
According to ESPN, the Englishman finished ahead of Kylian Mbappé and Lamine Yamal in the voting. The award is organised by France Football magazine, and the winner is chosen by 100 journalists from around the world. Kane is the first Englishman to win the trophy since Michael Owen in 2001, as BBC points out. As ESPN reports, chants of „Harry” rang out in the hall.
The Football Association (FA) notes that Kane joined Stanley Matthews, Bobby Charlton, Kevin Keegan and Owen. According to ESPN’s table, Keegan won it twice, in 1978 and 1979.
The season that decided it
FA data shows that Kane scored 73 goals in 65 matches during the season. As the federation describes, 61 of them came for his club and 12 for his country. Yahoo Sports quotes an assessment that it was a record-breaking season, and it names Bayern Munich as his club. ESPN points out that Mbappé became the all-time top scorer in World Cup history this year with 22 goals. Yamal won the tournament with Spain.
After receiving the award, Kane spoke to BBC about a dream come true („a dream come true”).
London gala and the other winners
The gala was held outside France for the first time. According to Sporting News, London was chosen to honour the first winner of the trophy, Stanley Matthews. ESPN reports that the ceremony was delayed by problems getting to the theatre. Earlier, the official award website mistakenly published information about the winners, including Kane, Yamal and Mbappé, several hours before the gala.
In the women’s category, Alexia Putellas won the Ballon d’Or for the third time. ESPN also reports that Luis de la Fuente was named best coach, Unai Simón best goalkeeper, and Yamal won the best young player award for the third year in a row. Sporting News notes that over the last five editions, five different players have won the Ballon d’Or.
What it means
For Polish fans, Kane is a familiar rival from European club competitions and qualifiers, and his club Bayern regularly plays in the Champions League. For England fans, it marks the end of a 25-year wait for a successor to Owen. The win also ends Kane’s run without a major individual award, as he had not won any of them until now. The latter point comes from the BBC article and the history of the award, not from a separate statement.
