Harry Kane Wins Ballon d’Or as First Englishman in 25 Years

Harry Kane has won the men’s Ballon d’Or in London, becoming the first English footballer in 25 years to claim the award.

Harry Kane has been named the winner of the men’s Ballon d’Or, becoming the first English footballer in 25 years to claim football’s most prominent individual award.

Table Of Content

Mbappé and Yamal complete the top three
Putellas takes women’s award
Separate commercial fallout for Mbappé in China

The Bayern Munich striker was announced as the winner at a ceremony in London on Monday. His victory followed a prolific year in which he scored 73 goals in 65 appearances for club and country.

Kane also scored 12 times for England last season, including six goals at the World Cup. His performances helped Bayern Munich secure a league and cup double.

“I love to represent my country and to bring this trophy back to them and have an English winner I think is something that’s really, really special, especially here in London,” Kane said after receiving the award.

Mbappé and Yamal complete the top three

Real Madrid forward Kylian Mbappé finished second in the men’s rankings, while Lamine Yamal placed third. Yamal also collected the young talent of the year award for the third consecutive time.

The Ballon d’Or was established by France Football magazine in 1956. Journalists from the 100 highest-ranked countries in FIFA’s rankings vote for the winner.

Putellas takes women’s award

Alexia Putellas won the women’s Ballon d’Or for the third time. She returned to the top of the award after suffering a ligament injury four years earlier.

Aitana Bonmati, who had won the women’s prize in the previous three years, saw her season ended by a leg break.

Spain coach Luis de la Fuente was named men’s coach of the year after leading the national team to World Cup glory. Barcelona’s Pere Romeu received the women’s coach of the year award.

Separate commercial fallout for Mbappé in China

Separately, Mbappé was reported to have been dropped by two major brands in China after a video circulated online in which he apparently joked about Mao Zedong.

Mengniu cut ties with the Real Madrid and France forward. Dongpeng also issued a statement saying it “has a zero-tolerance policy towards any behaviour that offends national sentiments.”