Harry Kane has arguably produced the best season of his career, making himself a serious contender for the 2026 Ballon d’Or. After another extraordinary campaign with Bayern Munich, Kane then carried his goalscoring form onto the international stage at the World Cup.
But does that make him the rightful winner?
Kane’s Phenomenal 2025/26 Season
Kane’s numbers for Bayern Munich are simply ridiculous. Across the 2025/26 campaign, he scored 61 goals in all competitions, helping Bayern win the Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal. He also claimed the European Golden Shoe after scoring 36 Bundesliga goals, while finishing as the league’s top scorer for a third consecutive season. He also recently became the fastest player to score 100 Bundesliga Goals.
His Champions League campaign was equally impressive. Kane scored 14 goals in 13 appearances, finishing second in the competition’s scoring charts as Bayern reached the semi-finals. He also scored 10 times in six DFB-Pokal appearances, including a hat-trick in the final as Bayern defeated Stuttgart to complete the domestic double.
Put simply, Kane was not merely scoring against weaker opposition. He was consistently producing huge numbers across virtually every competition while being the focal point of Vincent Kompany’s attack.
His development into a complete forward also deserves recognition. Kane is no longer simply a penalty-box goalscorer. His passing, movement, link-up play and ability to drop deep have become increasingly important to Bayern, making his overall influence greater than his already astonishing goal tally suggests.
What About Harry Kane’s 2026 World Cup?
The World Cup only strengthened Kane’s Ballon d’Or case statistically.
England’s captain scored six goals and provided one assist in seven World Cup appearances. He started the tournament brightly, including goals during England’s group-stage campaign, and remained among the competition’s leading scorers.
However, this is where the argument becomes slightly more complicated.
While Kane's overall World Cup numbers are phenomenal, he did not have the same influence in England’s decisive knockout matches. He had a relatively quiet quarter-final against Norway, with England ultimately progressing thanks to two Jude Bellingham goals.
Kane was also unable to make the difference as England fell 2-1 to Argentina in the semi-finals. England eventually finished third after beating France 6-4 in the bronze-medal match.
That is perhaps the biggest argument against Kane winning the Ballon d’Or: when the pressure reached its highest point, another England player arguably had the greater influence.
So, Should Harry Kane Win the Ballon d’Or?
He absolutely deserves to be in the conversation.
For Bayern, Kane was phenomenal. The numbers are almost unbelievable: 61 goals, a Bundesliga title, a DFB-Pokal, the European Golden Shoe and 14 Champions League goals. He was arguably the best pure goalscorer in European football throughout the season.
And then there is his World Cup: six goals and an assist in seven games is a phenomenal return by virtually any standard.
Personally, though, we would have someone else winning the 2026 Ballon d’Or, and we will reveal who in a later article. Even then, it is only by the finest of margins.
Kane’s season has been so outstanding that there would be absolutely no complaint if he ultimately gets his hands on the award. Whether he wins or finishes narrowly behind our preferred candidate, one thing is beyond doubt: Harry Kane has produced a Ballon d’Or-worthy season.
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