Harry Kane admits he wants to know Ballon d’Or winner ahead of monday’s ceremony

Harry Kane has admitted that he would love to know the winner of the 2026 Ballon d’Or in advance, acknowledging that it is difficult to ignore the speculation surrounding football’s most prestigious individual award.

The Bayern Munich striker made the comments after helping his side secure a 2-2 draw in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday night, with the winner set to be announced at a ceremony next Monday evening.

Widely regarded as the highest individual honour in football, the Ballon d’Or has been awarded by France Football since 1956, with the winner selected by a panel of football journalists. The award has been presented annually apart from 2020, when the ceremony was cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Monday’s event will mark the 70th edition of the prestigious award.

Ousmane Dembele, the Paris Saint-Germain forward, is the reigning champion. Argentina legend Lionel Messi holds the record with eight victories, while Portugal superstar Cristiano Ronaldo has claimed the honour five times.

Kane has emerged as the bookmakers’ favourite for the 2026 award, with Barcelona youngster Lamine Yamal considered his closest rival. England’s most recent Ballon d’Or winner was Michael Owen, who claimed the prize in 2001.

Yamal has previously expressed confidence in his credentials, insisting that he deserves the award after an outstanding run of performances for Barcelona and Spain.

The teenager has recorded 34 goals and 28 assists for Barcelona since the start of last season, alongside four goals in four victories for Spain during the recent UEFA Nations League international window.

Those international performances briefly brought Yamal level with Kane in the bookmakers’ rankings. However, the England captain has since strengthened his case with six Nations League goals and four additional strikes for Bayern Munich.

Since the start of last season, Kane has registered 71 goals and 14 assists for Bayern, in addition to 18 goals and three assists for England.

Despite his impressive numbers, the 33-year-old has refrained from publicly declaring who he believes should win the award. Nevertheless, he acknowledged that receiving the Ballon d’Or would be a significant achievement after what he described as a great year.

“I would be really happy to receive such an award,” Kane said.

The England international also admitted that the anticipation surrounding Monday’s announcement has made it difficult to focus entirely on football.

“I’d love to know (in advance who wins) to just kind of see and not have to wait throughout the whole night,” he said on Wednesday.

“But it is their decision, I can’t control that. We’ll have to just enjoy it and try not to stress out too much.

“They want everyone to go, all the big names there and there will be more people watching it if they don’t know, so I can understand why.

“I try not to think about it. Obviously it is hard not to. There are always rumours flying around and you try to stay away from it.”

Organisers began making a greater effort to keep the winner secret ahead of the ceremony in 2024. However, that approach was overshadowed when Real Madrid boycotted the event after reports indicated that Vinicius Junior had lost out to Rodri.

The 2026 Ballon d’Or ceremony is scheduled to take place at the London Palladium Theatre on Monday, between 8pm and 10pm BST.

While Kane and Yamal remain the leading contenders, Kylian Mbappe and Messi are also among the names attracting attention ahead of the announcement.