Harry Kane, the striker for Bayern Munich and the England national team, has been named the world’s best footballer by France Football. The ceremony for the 70th Ballon d’Or took place on the evening of October 26 at the London Palladium theatre.

Second place went to Real Madrid and France forward Kylian Mbappé, while third place went to Barcelona and Spain midfielder Lamine Yamal. Also in the top ten were Rodri, Lionel Messi, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Ousmane Dembélé, Erling Haaland, and Michael Olise.

33-year-old Kane scored 73 goals in 65 matches for Bayern Munich and the England national team this past season. He became the fifth Englishman in the history of the award, following Stanley Matthews, Bobby Charlton, Kevin Keegan, and Michael Owen. The previous English winner was Owen in 2001—meaning 25 years have passed since then.

Among women, the Ballon d'Or was awarded for the third time to the Spaniard Alexia Putellas. In the summer of 2026, she transferred from Barcelona to London City Lionesses.

For the first time, the ceremony took place outside of Paris: the organizers chose London in honor of the award’s inaugural recipient, Stanley Matthews, who won it in 1956. The 2025 laureate was Ousmane Dembélé of PSG. Messi was not present at the ceremony.