Harry Kane says he is proud of his record-breaking 2025-26 season and is “happy I am in contention” for the Ballon d’Or.
By the end of the World Cup, the Bayern Munich striker had racked up 73 goals for club and country.
He scored 61 times for Bayern, helping them to the Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal titles, as well as netting 12 for England, including six at the World Cup as the Three Lions finished third.
Only once in history has a player netted more goals across a single campaign, with Lionel Messi hitting the back of the net 82 times for Barcelona and Argentina in 2011-12.
After his stunning season, Kane is being tipped as one of the favourites to win this year’s Ballon d’Or.
Should he do so, he would become just the fifth Englishman to be awarded the accolade and the first since Michael Owen in 2001.
“I’m extremely proud of the season I put up, for sure,” Kane told TNT Sports after being played a message from Owen, who said he hoped the striker would “join our exclusive little club”.
“Hearing players like Michael say that – I grew up watching Michael play, and I was a massive England fan – I think it just fills me with pride.
“Not that long ago, I was that fan wanting to become a professional footballer, and I am here now and winning awards, and the Ballon d’Or is the same.
“Of course, now it is out of my hands; it is down to the voters and the people who decide it. The season I had was my best season by far, and we’ll have to wait and see.
“It is a weird one because I am already focused on this season now, and the next season. Can I be better? Can I improve? But I also want to appreciate what I did.
“The thing with football opinions – there are so many opinions, so many arguments for different players, and people love this player because ‘he’s fast’ and ‘he’s got great IQ’ and ‘his finishing is great’.
“So, I think that is what makes football special: all those debates, and the Ballon d’Or is definitely one of them. I’m happy that I am in contention, so we will have to wait and see.”
