Harry Kane Deserves the Ballon D'or, and Naming Any Other Winner Would be a Complete Farce

Harry Kane Deserves the Ballon D'or, and Naming Any Other Winner Would be a Complete Farce

It’s near the end of the calendar year. In football, there is one trophy left to win for players. It isn’t something anyone can win. It’s an award that everyone dreams of lifting one day. This year, it seems open, but is it actually?

The Ballon d’Or is getting closer day by day, and since Ronaldo and Messi have left Europe, it has become open. In recent years, the topic has become more and more debated, but this year it seems like the most split decision we have seen in years.

So, Who Deserves the Ballon d’Or?

Let’s start with some players who deserve a ranking inside the top 10. Michael Olise. The French winger had some season. With 25 goals and 28 assists for Bayern, including 34 goals and assists in 32 Bundesliga matches, you can see why he is deserving of a top 10 spot. Then it became more apparent when you see that he set the assist record at a World Cup with seven. However, the lack of goals will damage his chances.

So, who else should be there? Well, the PSG boys have a shout. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Ousmane Dembélé. Kvaratskhelia scored 20 goals and provided 12 assists in 50 matches last season, with an average of a goal contribution a game in the UCL. Dembélé also had an impressive season with 22 goals and 12 assists in 44 games. However, when they played a combined 50 league games, they can’t win the Ballon d’Or.

That leaves three front-runners. Kylian Mbappé (Real Madrid and France), Lamine Yamal (Barcelona and Spain) and Harry Kane (Bayern Munich and England).

Is it That Close?

On the surface, yes, it is very close. These players all had amazing seasons in their own right. Every one of them has a valid claim to the Ballon d’Or, and people wouldn’t be annoyed if they won it. So, who does deserve it?

Lamine Yamal

Let’s start with the main man at Barcelona, the definition of generational talent and someone who is setting records for fun: Yamal.

Trophies

Yamal has added even more trophies to his cabinet and looks to have completed football at just 19 years old. This season, he won La Liga with Barcelona as well as the Super Cup. However, the biggest one he won was the World Cup with Spain. At just 19, he has already completed international football. Winning the 2024 Euros and the 2026 World Cup. These trophies alone give him a claim.

Stats

However, you look deeper into his season, and it only gets better. The season before, people had issues with him winning the Ballon d’Or because he had only managed nine league goals. However, he looks to have taken that to heart, as he scored 16 goals last season while providing 11 assists. This has carried on into this season, where he already has seven goals and four assists in the first seven games. In the rest of the competitions, he managed 24 goals and 17 assists in 45 games, a huge upgrade on the previous season.

So, that’s it. Yamal surely must win. Strong output, amazing trophies and an all-round perfect season. It’s easy, isn’t it?

Well, no. He has some issues. The main one being big games. Yamal played against sides ranked in the top 10 nine times last season. He only managed one goal and one assist in those games, both against Atlético Madrid. This lack of goals in huge games could damage him.

You then look at the World Cup. He played seven games, starting in eight of those games. You would expect him to have caused some issues and scored goals like other elite players. However, he only managed one goal, which came against Saudi Arabia.

Reporter: "Can you win the Ballon Dor with just 1 World Cup goal?"

Lamine Yamal: "Messi won the 2010 Ballon Dor with 0 World Cup goals, I still scored at least one so why not." pic.twitter.com/U3BApOBzoZ

— Ball Zone (@TheBallZoneX) September 8, 2026

These overall numbers damage his chances.

So, if not Yamal, then who?

Kylian Mbappé

Well, the next player is Yamal’s rival. The man from Madrid. Someone who won the World Cup at a younger age than Yamal. Mbappé.

Trophies

Well, here we already see an issue. Real Madrid somehow didn’t win anything. The biggest club in the world, with some of the best players in the world, failed to win anything. They were beaten to La Liga by Barca, dumped out of the UCL by Bayern and didn’t have much impact in domestic trophies.

Stats

However, Mbappé really shines in the stats. In the argument that the Ballon d’Or should be based on individual performances, Mbappé has a massive claim. He played 47 games, scoring 43 goals and providing six assists. These weren’t just in poor competitions against weak sides. He scored 25 in the league. He scored 26 in the World Cup and UCL. Almost breaking Ronaldo’s UCL record with 16 goals and becoming the all-time top scorer at the World Cup with 10. His output this season was on a different level to what he has ever done before. In the big moments, he was there with goals.

However, the Ballon d’Or isn’t just based on your stats, and this is Mbappé’s issue. Yes, he has had an amazing season. His output was on a different level. The goals were in massive moments and in the two competitions that meant the most. However, he didn’t win them.

The lack of trophies will be what kills Mbappé. The only man who has managed to win the Ballon d’Or without trophies was Ronaldo. That was because he scored more goals alone than the other two around him. While Mbappé had an elite scoring season, he didn’t manage that. So, the lack of trophies will be his letdown.

It’s happening again this year 🔥🔥🔥
Mbappe for ballon dor 🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/m7cyMc4O3R

— RICH BERRY ATBK🫵🫵 (@kwaseabi234) September 22, 2026

So, Yamal didn’t do it when the lights shined the brightest, and Mbappé doesn’t have the silverware to back up the stats. So, who will win? Well, there is one man who has everything.

Harry Kane

Harry Kane had a season he will never forget. His greatest goalscoring season ever and one where he put to bed the fact that he’s the best striker of his generation. Everything clicked into place, and it proves it.

Trophies

He won everything in Germany. The Bundesliga was a walk. Bayern won by 16 points and looked back to their dominant selves. When combining this with a DFB-Pokal and a Super Cup, Kane destroyed Germany. While they did get knocked out of the UCL by future winners PSG and England were beaten by Argentina, he still won a lot.

But InvertTheWing has been crying all over the TL about how Harry Kane 70 goals need to be awarded with ballon dor after stinking in Champions League and World Cup pic.twitter.com/sAceQQDCwl

— Timzblaze💎💙❤️ (@Timzblazee3) September 19, 2026

Stats

This is where Mbappé gets put in his place. While he had an amazing season, Kane’s output puts him to shame. In 56 games, Kane scored 64 goals. Yes, well over a goal per game. This included 36 in 31 Bundesliga games, 14 in 13 UCL games and 10 in six DFB-Pokal games. He would also score six goals in seven World Cup games. His output was on a different level.

Harry Kane was on a different level. While he didn’t win the big trophies (the World Cup and UCL), he showed up when it mattered and won the trophies he had left. It isn’t the dominance we saw from Ronaldo and Messi, however, it is the closest we have gotten to them since they left Europe.

Overall

This really isn’t as close as it seems. While Yamal has the trophies, he lacks the big moments. Those specific times you look back on. His lack of an input for Spain in the World Cup will damage his chances. Not winning either the Player of the Tournament or Young Player award shows this. He has a strong claim, however, not the best.

Mbappé has all the goals, all those moments you look at and say, “That’s a Ballon d’Or winner there.” He fails to bring the trophies to the board. The goals can only take you so far, and his goals are far from enough to carry him to his first Ballon d’Or.

Kane has everything. The goals, the trophies, those big moments. While people are saying it’s close and it’s anyone’s pick as to who wins the Ballon d’Or, with Kane in the mix, it really isn’t close. He really is the front-runner. He is the main man and will be the newest Englishman to win the award. If he doesn’t, he never will, and once again, a Bayern striker wouldn’t have been robbed.