Harry Kane wins Ballon d'Or 2026: Reaction, your views and stories

Summary

Tributes are pouring in for Harry Kane, who has become the first English player to win the Ballon d'Or for 25 years
Kane's England teammates, Prince William, Thomas Tuchel and his former clubs are just some of those who've honoured the striker
The Bayern Munich, England and former Tottenham striker looked surprised and emotional as he collected the prize at the ceremony in London
Kane scored 73 goals for club and country last season; his 61 goals in 51 club games was the most a Bayern player has scored in a campaign
He said: 'I had to bide my time and work hard, a lot of times it was me against my own mind and I had to come through it, I had to show self-belief, determination.'
Kane pipped Kylian Mbappe and Lamine Yamal to the trophy, who finished second and third respectively

Your views

Live Reporting

Written by Ben Ramsdale, Alastair Telfer, Jemma Rice & Grace Wheeler.

Show

Recap: Reaction as Kane wins 2026 Ballon d'Orpublished at 11:59 GMT
That's your lot from us, for now...
Harry Kane is your 2026 Men's Ballon d'Or winner. The first Englishman to land the prestigious award in 25 years.
There has been loads of reaction this morning from the Bayern Munich forward's historic win so here's a recap of the best bits:
'Forever one of our own'published at 11:55 GMT
Tottenham Hotspur
This seems like a fitting way to round off today.
Tottenham Hotspur posted a video on their social media channels of Harry Kane from his early academy days, up to him becoming a Premier League icon.
"A legacy built in the Spurs academy. Forever one of our own," the post said.
Kane joined Spurs' youth ranks in 2004 and left the club in 2023 for Bayern Munich.
This X post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on X
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
Skip X post
Allow X content?
This article contains content provided by X. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read X’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
End of X post

get involved
Get Involved -published at 11:52 GMT
Click 'Get Involved' at the top of the page to have your say
Harry Kane, Harry Kane! Riding through the glen, Harry Kane, Harry Kane! With his band of men, Knocks on your door, Balon d'Or, Hurricane, Hurrikane! Harry Kane!
Kevin, London
There once was a man named Kane He spent years at White Hart Lane He walked out the door Won the ballon d'or And should never return again
Colin, London
Harry Kane He likes to score Ballon D'or Say no more
Ian, Burton on Trent
'Apart from being a fantastic footballer, he is a great guy'published at 11:48 GMT
Harry Redknapp
Former football manager and The Jukebox Man owner on BBC Radio 5 Live
It is fantastic what Harry has achieved. I said at that early age, I thought he would go on and become a Ballon d'Or winner and the player that he has become.
It was his attitude, his drive and he just wanted it so badly. He worked so hard. Apart from being a fantastic footballer, he is a great guy and a great example to the way he lives his life, he is a family man and he is a top guy.

get involved
Get Involvedpublished at 11:45 GMT
Click 'Get Involved' at the top of the page to have your say
Lamine Yamal should have won it, he has more talant in his little toe then Kane.
Kevin, Wales
Postpublished at 11:40 GMT
Wayne Rooney
Former England striker on Instagram
Yes Harry Kane. Well done mate and more than deserved. Made up for you.

'Fantastic achievement and richly deserved'published at 11:36 GMT
Click 'Get Involved' to have your say
Harry is not just about his goals scored, with left and right foot, head - magnificent though they are. His contributions all over the pitch, from defence to attack and back again, are extraordinary. He is a great leader. Fantastic achievement and richly deserved.
Ray, Haywards Heath
Congratulations Harry, on your success! You are a true legend and the fact that you have worked hard to achieve this, makes the achievement even better!
Andrew, Barking
Congratulations Harry Kane! A story of working hard, taking your chances, being humble and self belief. Incredible what he achieved personally consistently scoring at spurs and England. The move to Bayern has shown what a world class player he is.
Marky, UK
'I think that is a story that a lot of people can relate to'published at 11:31 GMT
Julien Laurens
French football journalist on BBC Radio 5 Live
Harry wins the Ballon d'Or at 33. I think that is a story that a lot of people can relate to, just don't give up, keep working hard, stay humble and then after that, great things will happen to you.
Harry has had a great season but this was a very open race and it was very tight, I think just for that it is a wonderful story and one that he deserves.
Image source, Getty Images

'There is still lots of exciting football in front of Kane'published at 11:27 GMT
Bradley Allen
Ex-QPR striker on BBC Radio 5 Live
The next World Cup for Harry Kane, I am not sure. I think he will try and break the century of goals next month for England at Wembley against Croatia and he will overtake Peter Shilton's appearance record. There is still lots of exciting football in front of Kane in the next couple of years.
Postpublished at 11:24 GMT
Would arguably be a bigger achievement if he got the UK a win in that to be honest...

get involved
Get Involvedpublished at 11:22 GMT
Click 'Get Involved' at the top of the page to have your say
Can Harry do our next year's Eurovision song please.
Paul, Yeovil
Safety first!published at 11:18 GMT
The Ballon d'Or has been safely strapped in by Harry Kane, external and is on its way back to Munich.
Kane needed a few attempts to get the seatbelt to fit around the Ballon d'Or.
You can tell it's his first time doing that...
He is the first Bayern player to win the Ballon d'Or since Karl-Heinz Rummenigge in 1981.

'Once he got his chance, he never looked back'published at 11:13 GMT
Harry Redknapp
Former football manager and The Jukebox Man owner on BBC Radio 5 Live
He had plenty of loans as a young player and you wouldn't have looked at him at 16 and 17 and thought he was going to be a superstar - you thought he maybe lacked pace but he worked on everything everyday. After everyone had finished training he would stay and practice, he wanted to learn and get better.
Once he got his chance, he never looked back and went on from strength to strength.
Image source, Getty Images
get involved
Get Involvedpublished at 11:08 GMT
Click 'Get Involved' at the top of the page to have your say
Everyone who's saying the Ballon d’Or shouldn’t have gone to Kane are wrong. Just because he didn’t win trophies? The Ballon d’Or is an individual trophy, it should focus on goals, assists, clean sheets, individual statistics. Kane has had the second best goalscoring season in history. Of course he deserved it.
Finn, West Sussex

'You deserve every bit of this award' - Kohlipublished at 11:04 GMT
India cricketer Virat Kohli, one of the world's biggest sporting stars, posted on X: "Harry my friend, you deserve every bit of this award for your resilience, hard work and honesty with which you’ve carried yourself through all these years playing football at the top.
"Really happy for you. God bless you and your family. They must all be very proud of you as you would be of your own journey. My best wishes always. Congratulations."
'You sacrifice yourself to help me achieve my dreams'published at 10:59 GMT
Someone who has followed Harry Kane's entire career is his wife, Kate.
The couple met at school and have experienced the highs and lows of football together.
They have four children and two Labrador retrievers.
In his speech, Kane made sure to thank his wife: "To my wife, Kate, my best friend. We've been through ups and downs. You're my biggest supporter. I actually felt like you wanted this more than I did.
"The anxious wait for us to find out - I know it's been horrible for you. Here it is. WE'VE DONE IT!
"You always want the best for me. You sacrifice yourself to help me achieve my dreams, and I know they're your dreams as well, so it wouldn't be possible without you."
Image source, Getty Images
Image source, Getty Images

get involved
Get Involvedpublished at 10:54 GMT
Click 'Get Involved' to have your say
Funnily enough he had to go Munich to do it. Would never have happened at Spurs.
David, Liverpool
get involved
Get Involvedpublished at 10:51 GMT
Click 'Get Involved' at the top of the page to have your say
If there was ever a modern player who genuinely deserved flowers for their performances and contributions to football both national and international, it's Harry. I'm a Gooner and he's only one of two ex-Spurs player I celebrated even when he was still at Tottenham.
Mr JJ, Suffolk

'This has been coming'published at 10:48 GMT
Bradley Allen
Ex-QPR striker on BBC Radio 5 Live
It was pretty amazing really for Harry's journey and he spoke about it in his acceptance speech, to be in the company of some outstanding footballers and the best in the world, I know him and his family will really cherish this.
When I think back to all those years at under 14 and under 15, when Harry was working on himself and developing as a young school boy player, he wasn't a stand out player at the time but some of those key traits and attributes to give yourself a chance in terms of his dedication and ability to listen and take on key messages among the key teachers and football coaches he was working with.
He then just went off and applied himself, he was prepared to do the work with such dedication, he cut no corners. He would often ask to stay back and do extra to work on his finishers and ball striking.
Those traits has followed him in his career and that has got him to the level of consistency.
This has been coming and I hope at 33, there is a good few more left in him and I hope he has the best part of his career at the back end of it.
'No one could have deserved this more'published at 10:42 GMT
Harry Redknapp
Former football manager and The Jukebox Man owner on BBC Radio 5 Live
Harry's all round game is brilliant. He drops into pockets and sprays passes about, it isn't just his goalscoring that is good it is his all round play, and the way he is and they way he is around the players, he is great as the England captain. No one could have deserved this more, it has been a brilliant story.
Image source, Getty Images