Harry Kane has landed on the 30-player shortlist for the 2026 Ballon d’Or, capping off what might be the most prolific individual season in football since Lionel Messi seemed to break the sport back in 2012.
Kane’s 73 goals across club and country during the 2025-26 campaign slot him into second place on the all-time single-season scoring chart. Only Messi’s almost mythological 82-goal haul from 2011-12 sits above him.
The numbers behind the nomination
The breakdown of Kane’s season reads like a video game stat line. He netted 61 goals for Bayern Munich, powering the German club to a Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal double. Then he added 12 more in an England shirt, including six during the 2026 World Cup, where the Three Lions secured a third-place finish.
Kane himself has called it his best season to date. The historic significance of the goal tally clearly isn’t lost on him.
