Harry Kane is tipped to end England’s 25-year wait for the men’s Ballon d’Or when the prestigious football award is presented in London on Monday, with Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal and Real Madrid forward Kylian Mbappe among his main challengers.
The Bayern Munich striker scored 73 goals in 65 appearances for club and country last season, helping the German side win the league and cup double.
However, Bayern’s exit in the Champions League semi-finals and England’s World Cup semi-final defeat have left uncertainty over whether Kane will secure the individual honour at the London Palladium.
The 33-year-old said winning the award would be a major milestone in his career.
“I’d love to be able to achieve something like that. It would be a massive milestone in my career,” he said.
Kane is seeking to become the fifth Englishman to win the award, following Stanley Matthews, Bobby Charlton, Kevin Keegan and Michael Owen, who was the last English winner in 2001.
Bayern coach Vincent Kompany said the award would be deserved recognition for Kane’s contribution to the team, particularly after the striker won his first major team trophies with the German club.
Yamal, who finished second behind Paris Saint-Germain’s Ousmane Dembele last year, is also in contention despite a hamstring injury that cut short his club season.
The 19-year-old Barcelona forward expressed confidence in his chances, arguing that his achievements justified winning the award.
Mbappe, meanwhile, enters the contest after topping the scoring charts in La Liga, the Champions League and the World Cup, although he failed to win any of those competitions with Real Madrid or France.
The 27-year-old also scored 10 goals at the World Cup in North America, taking his career tally in the tournament to 22 and making him its all-time leading scorer.
The men’s award is decided by football journalists from the 100 highest-ranked countries in FIFA’s rankings, who vote for their top 10 players from a shortlist of 30 nominees.
The ceremony will be held in London for the first time, 70 years after England winger Matthews received the inaugural Ballon d’Or in 1956.
In the women’s category, Barcelona legend Alexia Putellas is favourite to win the award for a third time, with Aitana Bonmati’s three-year run expected to end following an injury-disrupted period.
Putellas, who won the award in 2021 and 2022, was part of Barcelona’s team that won the Champions League last season before moving to London City Lionesses.
Her former Barcelona team-mate, Poland forward Ewa Pajor, is considered her main challenger after scoring 11 goals in the Champions League campaign.
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