Harry Kane admits Ballon d'Or wait is 'very stressful' for family ahead of Monday reveal

Kane closes in on maiden Ballon d'Or as favourite

Harry Kane has admitted that the wait to discover whether he has won the Ballon d'Or is proving “very stressful” for his family, as the Bayern Munich and England striker prepares for the ceremony at the London Palladium on Monday night.

The 33-year-old is the odds-on favourite to claim football’s most prestigious individual honour after a prolific run of form. Kane scored 61 goals for Bayern last season and 12 for England, and this time out he has 10 for Bayern and six for England. He scored from the penalty spot in Wednesday night’s 2-2 Champions League draw against Arsenal at the Allianz Arena, although his stand-out moment was the inch-perfect through ball that set up Alphonso Davies to make it 1-1.

Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal is the second-favourite for the Ballon d’Or, with Kylian Mbappé of Real Madrid next in the betting.

‘My wife would prefer to know’

Asked whether he would prefer to be told the result in advance of the ceremony, Kane said: “I think my wife would prefer to know and my family … it’s very stressful for everyone. I can see why they don’t tell people. They want everyone to go, all the big names, and there will be more people watching it if they don’t know so I can understand why.

“From my point of view, of course I’d love to know to just kind of see and not have to wait throughout the whole night. But it is their decision, I can’t control that. We’ll have to just enjoy it and try not to stress out too much. I try not to think about it. Obviously it is hard not to. There are always rumours and stuff flying around so you try to stay away from it.”

Backing from within Bayern and beyond

Kane’s standing as the frontrunner has been reinforced by supporters inside his own club. On 17 October, Bayern Munich president Herbert Hainer publicly backed the England captain to win the award ahead of team-mate Michael Olise, saying he would “give it to Harry.” Hainer argued both deserved the honour but that Kane should take it this month.

Earlier, in a 10 September ranking, The Athletic placed Kane top of its 2026 Ballon d’Or list on the back of a season in which the striker scored 73 goals in 65 appearances for club and country, with Michael Olise, World Cup winner Rodri and Kylian Mbappé named as serious contenders. The award is decided by 100 journalists using club and international performances from 3 August to 19 July.

For now, though, Kane is left to weather the speculation — and to keep his family calm — until the envelope is opened at the London Palladium.