Harry Kane became the first English player to win the Ballon d'Or in 23 years, ending a wait since Michael Owen's victory in 2001. The 33-year-old Bayern Munich striker secured the award after scoring 61 goals in 51 club matches last season, the most any Bayern player has ever recorded in a single campaign. Including England international matches, Kane notched 73 goals and eight assists across 65 games, surpassed only by Lionel Messi's 82-goal tally for Barcelona and Argentina in 2011-12.
Kane finished ahead of Real Madrid forward Kylian Mbappe in second place and Barcelona's Lamine Yamal in third. He becomes the fifth Englishman to win the award, joining Stanley Matthews (1956), Bobby Charlton (1966), Kevin Keegan (1978, 1979) and Owen. Bayern Munich had not produced a Ballon d'Or winner since Karl-Heinz Rummenigge in 1981.
The striker achieved the award despite failing to win either of football's two biggest trophies. Bayern lost in both the Champions League and World Cup semi-finals, though Kane won the German domestic double. His 36 Bundesliga goals left the second-place finisher 17 goals behind, while his 14 Champions League strikes came for the tournament's beaten semi-finalists.
"Not many people would have thought it, and maybe even I wouldn't have thought I'd be this far," Kane told Dazn. "I had to go through many ups and downs, especially early in my career. I was never the person that people thought was going to be the superstar like some of the guys now. I had to come through it, I had to show self-belief, determination."
England manager Thomas Tuchel called Kane's win a "huge honour." Prince William described the former Tottenham striker as a "brilliant captain" and "remarkable player."
Kane's achievement marks only the fifth instance in 20 years that the Ballon d'Or went to a player without winning the World Cup, Champions League, or continental championship. Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have each won the award multiple times without capturing those trophies. So far this season, Kane has scored 10 goals in 12 Bayern games plus six in four Nations League matches for England.