Harry Kane puts Ballon d'Or ambitions aside after record Bayern season
Kane keeps focus on Bayern despite Ballon d'Or momentum
Harry Kane has emerged as one of the leading contenders for the 2025-26 Ballon d'Or after a spectacular season with Bayern Munich and England, but the striker insists the award is not occupying his thoughts ahead of the new campaign.
Kane scored 61 goals in all competitions for Bayern after the Club World Cup and helped the club secure a Bundesliga and DFL-Pokal double. No player from Europe's top five leagues matched his overall goal tally last season, while he averaged a goal every 66.4 minutes and exceeded his expected-goals figure of 44.4 by 16.6.
The England captain also scored six goals in seven matches as England reached the World Cup semi-finals. Only Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi, Erling Haaland and Jude Bellingham scored more goals at the tournament.
“The Ballon d'Or is as big as it gets, from an individual point of view,” Kane said, as quoted by ESPN.
Despite acknowledging the significance of the prize, Kane said the outcome is now beyond his control and that preparing for Bayern's season is the priority.
“I've done what I can do in terms of putting in performances. It's now down to votes, and other people, and the media, and stuff I can't control,” he said.
“Obviously, it would be amazing if it were to happen,” Kane added, while noting that the award will not be decided for another two or three months.
Chasing Bundesliga history
Kane has won the Bundesliga Golden Boot in each of his first three seasons in Germany, scoring 98 league goals overall. Only Bayern greats Gerd Muller and Robert Lewandowski have claimed the prize more often, with seven wins each. Robert Lewandowski is also the only player this century to win the award four times in a row, collecting five consecutive scoring titles from 2017-18 through 2021-22.
Bayern will face Borussia Dortmund in the Franz Beckenbauer Supercup before beginning their Bundesliga title defence against Stuttgart. The club also has a final pre-season friendly against Heidenheim, in which Kane could feature.