Harry Kane says he is proud to be in contention for the Ballon d’Or after his stunning goalscoring campaign last season.
The nominees for the award are announced on Tuesday and Kane is favourite with the bookmakers after scoring 73 goals for club and country last season. The feat is only bettered by Lionel Messi’s 82 in 2011-12. Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal and Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappé are also among the contenders. Alexia Putellas and Khadija Shaw are in contention for the Ballon d’Or Féminin.
Kane, who would become only the fifth Englishman to lift the award after Sir Stanley Matthews, Sir Bobby Charlton, Kevin Keegan and Michael Owen, told TNT Sport: “Not that long ago, I was that fan wanting to become a professional footballer and I am here now and winning awards and the Ballon d’Or is the same.
“Of course, now it is out of my hands, it is down to the voters and the people who decide it. The season I had was my best season by far and we’ll have to wait and see.”
The England captain won the Bundesliga last season and his six goals at the World Cup made him his country’s leading scorer of all time at the tournament with 14. His 73 goals eclipsed Cristiano Ronaldo’s 69 in 2011-12.
Kane added: “I grew up watching Messi and Ronaldo, the era of them just dominating and dominating.
“Obviously Messi is the only one to have scored more with 82, but even some of their other seasons, and Ronaldo’s highest I think was 69.
“These are numbers that I just thought were silly, which they are. They are the two greatest of our generation and arguably of all time. So 73 goals, even for me, I am pretty amazed by that.”
What is the Ballon d’Or?
It is the leading individual honour in world football, awarded annually since 1956 and voted for by journalists.
When are the nominees announced?
On Tuesday, September 8. The men’s and women’s categories will include a shortlist of 30 players each, and there are eight other categories including:
Men’s Young Talent of the Year
Women’s Young Talent of the Year
Men’s Goalkeeper of the Year
Women’s Goalkeeper of the Year
Men’s Coach of the Year
Women’s Coach of the Year
Men’s Club of the Year
Women’s Club of the Year
Who votes for it?
An international panel of football journalists with one each from the 100 highest-ranked nations in the Fifa men’s world ranking. Each journalist selects their 10 top players from the shortlist, and the ranking is converted into points. First place gains 15 points, second is 12 and third is 10 points. The points are added together and the highest total wins. If there is a tie, the number of first-place votes is the first tiebreaker. If there is still a tie, second-place votes are considered and so on.
How is a winner decided?
Journalists must consider individual performance, collective achievement and class and fair play. The award is therefore not purely down to what a player achieved individually. Performances across the previous campaign, in this case 2025-26, are considered. Previously, the award was judged on a calendar year but was scrapped to take in the traditional European football season. For this award, performances at the World Cup are considered.
When is the ceremony?
On October 26 in London. It will be the award’s 70th anniversary after Sir Stanley Matthews won the first Ballon d’Or.
Who won last year?
Men’s Ballon d’Or: Ousmane Dembélé
Women’s Ballon d’Or: Aitana Bonmatí
What are the odds for the 2026 men’s Ballon d’Or?
- Harry Kane 8/13
- Lamine Yamal 9/2
- Kylian Mbappé 6/1
- Rodri 7/1
- Khvicha Kvaratskhelia 8/1
- Jude Bellingham 20/1
- Lionel Messi 25/1
- Michael Olise 25/1
- Ousmane Dembélé 25/1