The 70th Ballon d’Or awards ceremony in 2026 was held at the London Palladium. Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane, 33, won the prestigious Ballon d’Or for the first time in his career after an outstanding performance during the evaluation period.

The evaluation period for the 2026 Ballon d’Or ran from August 3, 2025, to July 19, 2026, the date of the FIFA World Cup final in the United States, Canada and Mexico. During this period, Kane made 65 appearances for Bayern Munich and England, scoring 73 goals and providing six assists.

Kane made 51 appearances for Bayern Munich, recording 61 goals and seven assists. He won the Bundesliga, the DFB-Pokal and the German Super Cup, reached the UEFA Champions League semi-finals, and claimed both the Bundesliga Golden Boot and the European Golden Shoe. He was also named in the Bundesliga Team of the Season and the Champions League Team of the Season.

​For England, Kane made 14 appearances, scoring 12 goals and providing one assist while serving as the team's captain and leader. At the 2026 FIFA World Cup, he made seven appearances, contributing six goals and one assist to help England finish third.

Kane became Bayern Munich's first Ballon d’Or winner in 45 years, since Karl-Heinz Rummenigge in 1981. He is the fourth player in Bayern's history to win the award, bringing the club's total to six Ballon d’Or titles.

He also became the first Bundesliga player to win the Ballon d’Or in 30 years, since Matthias Sammer in 1996. Kane is the seventh Bundesliga player to receive the award, bringing the total number of Ballon d’Or wins by Bundesliga players to 10.

Furthermore, Kane became the first English player to win the Ballon d’Or in 25 years, since Michael Owen in 2001. He is the fifth English player to receive the prestigious honour.

​The first-ever Ballon d’Or was awarded to Stanley Matthews in 1956. The 2026 ceremony marked the 70th presentation of the award and the first time the ceremony had been held outside France.

​

​Ballon d’Or Winners Throughout History

​1956: Stanley Matthews

1957: Alfredo Di Stéfano

1958: Raymond Kopa

1959: Alfredo Di Stéfano

1960: Luis Suárez (the Spanish midfielder)

1961: Omar Sívori

1962: Josef Masopust

1963: Lev Yashin

1964: Denis Law

1965: Eusébio

1966: Bobby Charlton

1967: Flórián Albert

1968: George Best

1969: Gianni Rivera

1970: Gerd Müller

1971: Johan Cruyff

1972: Franz Beckenbauer

1973: Johan Cruyff

1974: Johan Cruyff

1975: Oleg Blokhin

1976: Franz Beckenbauer

1977: Allan Simonsen

1978: Kevin Keegan

1979: Kevin Keegan

1980: Karl-Heinz Rummenigge

1981: Karl-Heinz Rummenigge

1982: Paolo Rossi

1983: Michel Platini

1984: Michel Platini

1985: Michel Platini

1986: Ihor Belanov

1987: Ruud Gullit

1988: Marco van Basten

1989: Marco van Basten

1990: Lothar Matthäus

1991: Jean-Pierre Papin

1992: Marco van Basten

1993: Roberto Baggio

1994: Hristo Stoichkov

​

The eligibility criteria were expanded to include all players representing European clubs.

1995: George Weah

1996: Matthias Sammer

1997: Ronaldo Nazário

1998: Zinedine Zidane

1999: Rivaldo

2000: Luís Figo

2001: Michael Owen

2002: Ronaldo Nazário

2003: Pavel Nedvěd

2004: Andriy Shevchenko

2005: Ronaldinho

2006: Fabio Cannavaro

​

The eligibility criteria were expanded to include professional footballers worldwide.

2007: Kaká

2008: Cristiano Ronaldo

2009: Lionel Messi

​

​The Ballon d’Or merged with FIFA’s World Player of the Year award to become the FIFA Ballon d’Or.

2010: Lionel Messi

2011: Lionel Messi

2012: Lionel Messi

2013: Cristiano Ronaldo

2014: Cristiano Ronaldo

2015: Lionel Messi

​

France Football resumed presenting the Ballon d’Or independently.

2016: Cristiano Ronaldo

2017: Cristiano Ronaldo

2018: Luka Modrić

2019: Lionel Messi

​

The award was not presented in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

2021: Lionel Messi

2022: Karim Benzema

2023: Lionel Messi

2024: Rodri

2025: Ousmane Dembélé

2026: Harry Kane