Every Bundesliga Ballon d'Or winner, from Gerd Müller to Harry Kane
Harry Kane has won the 2026 Ballon d'Or, becoming the first Bundesliga-based player to claim football's most prestigious individual award since Matthias Sammer in 1996.
The Bayern Munich striker scored 73 goals for club and country during the 2025/26 campaign, capping a remarkable season with the game's biggest individual honour.
Kane is the seventh player to win the Ballon d'Or while playing for a Bundesliga club, joining a distinguished group that includes Gerd Müller, Franz Beckenbauer and Kevin Keegan.
Gerd Muller, Bayern Munich - 1970
Gerd Muller became German football's first Ballon d'Or winner after winning the 1970 award. Der Bomber scored 38 league goals for Bayern Munich to win the European Golden Shoe, before adding 10 goals to win the Golden Boot as West Germany finished third at the 1970 World Cup.
Muller failed to win a team trophy, but beat Bobby Moore to the Ballon d'Or.
Franz Beckenbauer, Bayern Munich - 1972 and 1976
Franz Beckenbauer was the first German to win multiple Ballon d'Or trophies after success in 1972 and 1976.
Beckenbauer's first award came after West Germany won the 1972 European Championship, beating Soviet Union in the final. Beckenbauer had earlier led Bayern Munich to Bundesliga title success.
Four years later, Beckenbauer claimed a second Ballon d'Or. Der Kaiser was recognised after Bayern Munich secured a third consecutive European Cup. He was also Ballon d'Or runner-up in 1974 and 1975.
Allan Simonsen, Borussia Monchengladbach - 1977
Allan Simonsen remains Denmark's only Ballon d'Or winner, having succeeded Franz Beckenbauer to claim the award in 1977.
The forward starred for Borussia Mönchengladbach as the club won the Bundesliga title and reached the European Cup final, scoring against Liverpool in a 3-1 defeat. Simonsen remains the only player to have scored in the finals of the European Cup, UEFA Cup and European Cup Winners' Cup.
Kevin Keegan, Hamburg - 1978 and 1979
Kevin Keegan collected the Ballon d'Or in 1978 and 1979 and remains the only English footballer to have won multiple awards. Keegan moved to Hamburg in a record-breaking £500,000 deal in 1977, having helped Liverpool to European Cup success.
He won the Ballon d'Or in each of his first two seasons in Germany, after scoring 29 goals in 70 games. His second season saw Hamburg win the Bundesliga for the first time in 19 years.
Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Bayern Munich - 1980 and 1981
The Bundesliga's dominance of the Ballon d'Or continued into the early eighties, as Karl-Heinz Rummenigge's back-to-back wins made it six straight years with a German-based winner.
Rummenigge won the 1980 Ballon d'Or after scoring 36 goals in 47 games for Bayern Munich, before earning the Best Player Award as Germany won the 1980 European Championship.
A year later, he was the top scorer in the Bundesliga and European Cup to earn a second Ballon d'Or.
Matthias Sammer, Borussia Dortmund - 1996
Matthias Sammer became only the second defender to win the Ballon d'Or after winning the 1996 award.
Having had success in a sweeper role during Borussia Dortmund's Bundesliga title success, Sammer starred in a similar position for Germany at Euro '96. He helped the Germans to success, earning the Player of the Tournament prize and later the Ballon d'Or.
Harry Kane, Bayern Munich - 2026
Harry Kane ended the Bundesliga's 30-year wait for a Ballon d'Or winner after winning the 2026 vote.
Kane scored 73 goals for club and country to win the award, scoring 61 times for Bayern Munich to inspire the club's German treble.
After picking up the European Golden Shoe, he struck six times at the 2026 World Cup as England finished third. That represented England's best ever World Cup performance in an overseas tournament.
