The Ballon d'Or ceremony will be held in London on Monday and Harry Kane is the favorite to win, potentially ending a long Bundesliga drought since Bayern's Karl-Heinz Rummenigge in 1981 and the last German-league winner Matthias Sammer in 1996. Kane, 33, scored 73 goals for club and country in the 2025-26 season and has 156 goals in 158 appearances for Bayern Munich since joining from Tottenham. Bayern coach Vincent Kompany praised Kane's expanded game and footballing intelligence, saying Kane has shown qualities beyond pure goalscoring, and teammate Serge Gnabry credited his professionalism and leadership. Kane said the London venue felt special for him and called the Ballon d'Or a "massive success" if awarded to him, and after Bayern's 2-2 Champions League draw with Arsenal he highlighted an assist and a penalty among his contributions. Main competition is Barcelona and Spain forward Lamine Yamal, who won the Euros at 16 and helped Spain win the World Cup and Barcelona clinch La Liga in the award period.
