Ballon d’Or: How Kane won without World Cup, Champions League
England captain and Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane has been crowned the 2026 Ballon d’Or winner, despite not winning the World Cup or Champions League. Read More: https://punchng.com/ballon-dor-how-kane-won-without-world-cup-champions-league/
On Monday, England captain Harry Kane was named the 2026 Ballon d'Or winner, marking the first time an English player has claimed the prestigious individual football award in 25 years. The ceremony, held at the London Palladium to celebrate the award's 70th anniversary, was graced by Brazilian legend Ronaldo Nazário. Kane outperformed competition from Kylian Mbappe (France, Real Madrid) and Lamine Yamal (Spain, Barcelona).
The 33-year-old striker notched up an impressive 61 goals in 51 club matches during the 2024-25 season, surpassing any other player in the top five European leagues. Despite Bayern Munich suffering a 6-5 aggregate defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League and England's 2-1 loss to Argentina in the World Cup semi-final, Kane emerged victorious.
This marks only the fifth instance in the past two decades where the Ballon d'Or was awarded to a player without winning either the World Cup, Champions League, or European Championship/Copa America.
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- Ballon d’Or: How Kane won without World Cup, Champions League punchng.com
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- Bayern Munich’s Harry Kane wins 2026 Ballon d’Or sports.yahoo.com
- Harry Kane ends England's 25-year Ballon d'Or drought, Putellas wins third crown france24.com
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- Harry Kane wins Ballon d’Or, beats Kylian Mbappe and Lamine Yamal to coveted award indianexpress.com
