Golden Ball award goes to Harry Kane

Harry Kane, the star striker of Bayern Munich and the England National Team, won the Ballon d'Or (Golden Ball) award, given to the best player of the 2025-26 season, for the first time in his career.

The ceremony, held at the Palladium Theater in London, the capital of England, where the award was given for the 70th time, was held outside Paris for the first time in memory of British football player Stanley Matthews, who won the first Ballon d'Or in 1956.

The award ceremony, hosted by Thierry Henry and Kate Scott, started with a 45-minute delay due to heavy traffic in the city center.

In the voting, Real Madrid's French star Kylian Mbappe took second place, and Lamine Yamal, who plays for Barcelona, ​​took third place.

For women, Spanish star Alexia Putellas, who won the UEFA Champions League with Barcelona last season and was transferred to London City Lionesses last summer, won the Ballon d'Or award for the third time after 2021 and 2022.

33-year-old Kane became the first English football player to win the Ballon d'Or since Michael Owen in 2001.

Kane made history as the fifth Englishman to receive the award, following Stanley Matthews (1956), Bobby Charlton (1966), Kevin Keegan (1978, 1979) and Michael Owen.

The English football player became the first Bayern Munich player to win the Ballon d'Or since Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, who won the award consecutively in 1980 and 1981.

Source: TRT Haber Açık RSS (Gündem) (Open Press / Translated Full Text)