Harry Kane Wins the 2026 Ballon d'Or as Award Returns to Bayern Munich After 45 Years

Bayern Munich's English striker Harry Kane has won the 2026 Ballon d'Or. One of the most prestigious individual awards in world football, the Golden Ball was presented at a ceremony held in the English capital, London. Kane beat Barcelona's young star Lamine Yamal and Real Madrid's French striker Kylian Mbappé to claim the award for the first time in his career. The 33-year-old centre-forward also entered the club's history books as the first Bayern Munich player to win the Ballon d'Or since 1981.

The Yashin Trophy, awarded to the year's best goalkeeper, went to Athletic Bilbao's Spanish shot-stopper Unai Simón. The 29-year-old goalkeeper played an important role in Spain's 2026 World Cup triumph. Simón conceded only one goal throughout the tournament and kept clean sheets in seven of his eight matches.

The Spanish goalkeeper finished ahead of names such as Arsenal's David Raya, Borussia Dortmund's Gregor Kobel, Real Madrid's Thibaut Courtois and Chelsea's Emiliano Martínez in the race for the award.

His performances in the 2025/26 season played a decisive role in Kane's path to the award. The England captain was directly involved in a total of 81 goals in 66 matches for club and country. Kane won the Bundesliga and the German Cup with Bayern Munich, while in the Champions League they were knocked out in the semi-finals by Paris Saint-Germain. The experienced forward finished third with England at the 2026 World Cup, ending the tournament with six goals.

Ballon d'Or Returns to Bayern Munich After 45 Years

The award won by Harry Kane also carries historic significance for Bayern Munich. The last player from the German club to win the Ballon d'Or was Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, who achieved the feat in consecutive years in 1980 and 1981. Kane became the fourth player to win the Ballon d'Or in a Bayern Munich shirt, after Franz Beckenbauer (1972, 1976), Gerd Müller (1970) and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (1980, 1981).

In the Bundesliga, a 30-year wait has come to an end. The last player to win the Ballon d'Or while playing in Germany's top flight was Matthias Sammer, who received the award as a Borussia Dortmund player in 1996.

On the night, the Kopa Trophy for the year's best young player went to Barcelona's 19-year-old star Lamine Yamal. The Spanish player won the award for the third year in a row. Yamal won LaLiga with Barcelona in the 2025/26 season and also lifted the 2026 World Cup with Spain.

In the voting for the Kopa Trophy, the youngster finished ahead of names such as Bayern Munich's Lennart Karl, Barcelona's Pau Cubarsí and Real Madrid's Yan Diomande. The award was presented by former Ballon d'Or winner Andriy Shevchenko.

At the 2026 Ballon d'Or ceremony, the Johan Cruyff Trophy for the year's best coach was won by Spain head coach Luis de la Fuente. The 65-year-old was honoured after leading Spain to the 2026 World Cup title.

De la Fuente came out on top of a shortlist that also included Luis Enrique, who retained the Champions League title with Paris Saint-Germain, as well as Unai Emery, Mikel Arteta and Bayern Munich head coach Vincent Kompany.