Harry Kane took the scenic route to the Ballon d’Or – a road fraught with doubts and detours, but one that ultimately led to the ultimate destination: being crowned the best player in the world.
The 33-year-old’s glory at the London Palladium on Monday is a fitting reward for an exemplary career which has seen records fall at his feet for England, Tottenham Hotspur and Bayern Munich.
Kane is England’s top scorer with 91 goals. He has 125 caps for England, a record with Peter Shilton. He is Spurs’ top scorer with 280 goals in 435 appearances. He scored a remarkable 73 goals in 65 matches for Bayern Munich and England during the 2025-2026 season.
This is the Kane of the recent generation, the world-class striker and all-round footballer who beat Real Madrid and France striker Kylian Mbappe, as well as Barcelona’s Spanish teenage striker Lamine Yamal, to sport’s greatest personal honor.
Kane’s humility has seen him described as an “anti-superstar” and his achievements have been praised both inside and outside the footballing world.
A social media post from Kane as he celebrated the biggest moment of his career said it all: “Work hard in silence. Let success be your noise.”
And yet, Kane’s journey hasn’t always been smooth.
It started with loans in the lower divisions with Leyton Orient, Millwall, Norwich City and Leicester City before becoming a great club and country.
The same Kane was on loan on the bench at Leicester City – alongside future England team-mate Jamie Vardy – when the Foxes lost a dramatic Championship play-off to Watford in May 2013.
Kane went through schools and tough times away from his more familiar surroundings at Spurs, joining Orient on loan at the age of 17 in January 2011, playing 18 games with nine starts and scoring five goals.
He joined Millwall in similar circumstances a year later, with some behind the scenes at Spurs fearing that the traditionally hostile atmosphere at the New Den would intimidate the teenager, but he acquitted himself well, scoring nine goals in 24 starts.
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