Harry Kane enjoys best moment of career as Bayern Munich’s ‘greatest ever signing’ is handed Ballon d’Or

HARRY KANE spent most of his career waiting for trophies, awards and accolades – and now they keep on coming. At his home in Grunwald, south of Munich, there is a gleaming new arrival to his collection which will now take pride of place: a golden ball measuring 31cm x 23cm and weighing 7kg. No one can deny Kane, a true professional on and off the pitch, the greatest individual moment of his career by being presented with the Ballon d’Or. And in a few weeks there will be another extraordinary night for the 33-year-old when he breaks Peter Shilton’s appearances record for England by earning his 126th cap. That game against Croatia is on November 12 at Wembley and equally, it was fitting last night’s ceremony also took place in London. Sir Stanley Matthews, Sir Bobby Charlton, Kevin Keegan (twice) and Michael Owen are the other Englishmen to have won this award. Read More on Football Charlton won in 1966 after inspiring the nation to World Cup glory so in terms of success, he is ahead of Kane. But Kane’s numbers are frankly ridiculous compared to the Manchester United legend. In the eyes of the 100 journalists who vote for this award, his 73 goals for Bayern Munich and England topped anything else achieved by the great and good of world football — and they were dead right. During those loan periods at Leyton Orient, Millwall, Norwich and Leicester, when he struggled to convince, this special moment on stage at the London Palladium seemed utterly impossible. Yet although he appears to be a mild-mannered and relaxed individual, Kane is an extremely determined and driven professional who has always thrived on sticking two fingers up to his many doubters. And he has done it again. Most read in Football CASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS Although Kane’s club boss, Vincent Kompany, is still recovering after collapsing, there was a huge delegation from Bayern. Apart from picking up Fifa’s Golden Boot for finishing top scorer at the 2018 World Cup, Kane had won little and suffered only heartbreak during his years at Tottenham. But in 2023, Kane made the best decision of his life by tearing himself away from his beloved Spurs to link up with Bayern. Although Kane was ridiculed at the end of the first season as Xabi Alonso’s unbeaten Bayer Leverkusen won the title, he got his hands on his first Bundesliga crown in 2025. Kane then won a domestic double last season during which everything he touched ended up in the net. He fired four hat-tricks in the Bundesliga, including one on the final day of the season to reach 36 league goals. Bayern cruised to the title, winning by 16 points. He also scored another hat-trick in the 3-0 win over Stuttgart in the German Cup final. So in total, he netted 61 times for Bayern with another 12 for England, including six at the World Cup. Always hungry for success These 73 goals made it the second-highest goalscoring season by any footballer in the 21st century, trailing only Lionel Messi’s 82-goal haul in 2011-12. Kane was Europe’s top domestic goalscorer for the second time in his career. And for the third successive year, he was the top scorer in German football. The trophy is a cannon, which is hilarious given the dislike Arsenal fans have for him. Bayern’s honorary president Uli Hoeness claims Kane is the club’s greatest ever signing, which is some statement. There is, however, the argument that Kane has not delivered in the big games for England. But a strong counter is that the rest of the team have not been good enough against the top sides to give him the ammunition. Kane won a bronze medal at this summer’s World Cup after the third place play-off win over France in Miami. However, that was little consolation to the captain, who was still hurting after the 2-1 late loss to Argentina in the semi-finals. Already, he is looking forward to Euro 2028 which England will co-host as one of the favourites. But right now, his focus is on a third successive Bundesliga title and a first Champions League success. And never happy and always hungry for success, he will also be looking to win a second Ballon d’Or crown.