Kane beats Mbappé, Yamal to win Ballon d'Or, England's 1st in 25 years

Harry Kane has become the first Englishman in 25 years to win the Ballon d'Or, beating Kylian Mbappé and Lamine Yamal to claim football's most prestigious individual award. Kane was presented with the prize -- which is organised by the magazine France Football and voted on by 100 journalists from around the world -- on Monday at a star-studded gala in London, where he was rewarded for a historic season for club and country. The 33-year-old starred for Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga and the Champions League and led England to the World Cup semifinals, scoring 73 goals in the process. He is the fifth English player to ever receive the honour, and the first since Michael Owen in 2001. "Being in London, it is extra special, it felt like a good omen," an emotional Kane said on stage. "Thank you to everyone who voted for me, I can imagine it was tough, so thank you." Rival Mbappé became the all-time top scorer in World Cup history this summer, with 22 goals, 10 of them scored at this year's edition, while Yamal won the tournament with Spain. The trio were bizarrely announced as winners on the official website hours before the ceremony in London. Further chaos followed with the awards pushed back by 30 minutes to start at 8.30 p.m., but just over two hours later and Kane received the 70th Ballon d'Or to enormous cheers and chants of 'Harry' inside the London Palladium, minutes after London City midfielder Alexia Putellas claimed the women's prize for a third time. Members of the Ballon d'Or jury choose 10 players, in order, from a 30-player shortlist, with the award going to the player who receives the most points overall. Kane follows Ousmane Dembélé, who won the prize in 2025, and Rodri who won it in 2024. For the last two decades, the award was dominated by Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, who top the all-time rankings with eight and five Ballons d'Or respectively. The Ballon d'Or is seen as the greatest individual prize in football, alongside FIFA's The Best award. Kane, who thanked England, Bayern and former club Tottenham, added: "To my wife Kate, my best friend. We've been through ups and downs. You are my biggest support and I felt like you wanted this more than me. - Ballon d'Or 2026 results: Full rankings, all award winners - Ballon d'Or site names Kane, Yamal and Mbappé as winners in blunder - Harry Kane wins Ballon d'Or - as it happened "The anxious wait ... Here it is, we've done it and you always want the best for me. You sacrifice yourself to make me achieve my dreams. This wouldn't be possible without you and it is something we can celebrate, not me. We're a team. I can't wait to celebrate tonight. I love you." He added: "It's just the journey. For any young boy or girl who wants to achieve their dream, anything is possible. "I hope my journey, it wasn't straightforward, I didn't go straight to the top, I had to experience a lot of loan moves and fight my way to get to where I am now. I hope that can give you inspiration and thank you very much." Among the other categories in Monday's ceremony, Yamal was named the Men's Young Player of the Year after starring for Barcelona in LaLiga, and for Spain at the World Cup. "I'd have liked it to be [teammate Pau] Cubarsi," Yamal said, during a brief speech. "This prize should have been for him. He deserves it." Spain's Luis de la Fuente won Coach of the Year after guiding Spain to the World Cup, and his first-choice keeper, Unai Simón, was named Men's Goalkeeper of the Year. Men's Ballon d'Or: Top-10 ranking Harry Kane, Bayern Munich Kylian Mbappé, Real Madrid Lamine Yamal, Barcelona Rodri, Barcelona (previously Manchester City) Lionel Messi, Inter Miami Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Paris Saint-Germain Ousmane Dembélé, Paris Saint-Germain Erling Haaland, Manchester City Michael Olise, Bayern Munich Fabián Ruiz, Paris Saint-Germain Information from PA was used in this report.