Harry Kane’s Ballon d’Or win is a wake-up call – and worth its weight in gold for Bayern Munich

Lamine Yamal and Kylian Mbappe were denied their first Ballon d’Or crown again this year. And rightly so. Harry Kane’s selection should also be seen as a lesson for the two best individual players. For Bayern Munich, it is worth its weight in gold. An assessment.

Late on Monday evening, Lamine Yamal left London's Palladium Theatre wearing sunglasses, with a visibly frustrated entourage alongside him. At about the same time, Harry Kane posted on X. "Work hard in silence. Let success be your volume," it read. Perhaps Yamal saw it then, or will see it on Tuesday. He would do well to take the newly crowned Ballon d'Or winner's words to heart.

The 100-strong jury of journalists did not vote Barcelona's fantastically talented, exciting 19-year-old the world footballer of the year for 2026. Nor did they choose Real Madrid's skilful, athletic and prolific force of nature, Kylian Mbappe. They chose the self-described quiet worker Kane.

Each had a legitimate case for ending an agonisingly long evening, which had begun 45 minutes late, with the golden ball in his hands. Yamal had become a world champion with Spain. He delivered rather underwhelming performances by his standards at the tournament, perhaps also because of a serious muscle injury suffered in April. Before that, he had shone for Barca whenever he was fit and won the league title with the Catalans.

Mbappe topped the scoring charts in every relevant competition: 25 goals in LaLiga, 15 in the Champions League and 10 at the World Cup. At just 27, he can even call himself the World Cup's record goalscorer. But he won no titles with Real or France.

For England and Bayern Munich, Kane scored 73 goals in 65 competitive matches during the voting period. He played a strong World Cup and won the league title and the cup. But Bayern fell to PSG in the Champions League semi-finals, while England lost to Argentina in the World Cup semi-finals.

Harry Kane was streets ahead of Yamal and Mbappe in one category

Had Kane missed out, one could have joined 11Freunde podcast host Katharina Reckers in throwing the award in the bin for good.

Alongside individual performances and team success, "class and fair play" are supposed to play a major role in the vote. Whether Kane is the best footballer in the world right now is open to debate. Mbappe is more athletic, while Yamal is in a world of his own technically. Neither, though, comes close to Kane for "class and fair play".

At his 18th birthday celebration, Yamal booked people with dwarfism to entertain him. The 19-year-old hardly comes across as down-to-earth, and his father's behaviour does not help. At last year's Ballon d'Or, he proved a sore loser and even suspected fraud when Ousmane Dembele deservedly received the award.

Dembele, meanwhile, took Mbappe's place at PSG. Under Luis Enrique, he learned to serve the team as a number nine through his running and defensive work while still shining himself. He ultimately reaped the rewards of that development.

Kylian Mbappe played a major part in Real Madrid's chaotic season

Mbappe is still chasing his two biggest goals at Real, a Champions League triumph and the Ballon d'Or, partly because he has not reached, or does not want to reach, that next level of his game. Real's fans made their feelings clear with a petition calling for his departure. He played a major part in Real's chaotic season last term. Spanish and French media regularly reported diva-like behaviour, short trips and condescending treatment of team-mates and staff members. His performances give him a leadership role, but he failed resoundingly to fulfil it.

In recent weeks, both Yamal and Mbappe publicly claimed the golden ball for themselves like small children. "No player was better than me last season," Mbappe proclaimed, for example, pointing out that it was an "individual award". Yamal cited the World Cup title with Spain and the league title with Barca, then declared that he deserved it as one of the "two best in the world". He did not mention Kane.

Kane's victory should serve as a lesson to both. He put it in writing himself: "Work hard in silence. Let success be your volume."

Why was Harry Kane's Ballon d'Or victory deserved?

Since his move to Bayern Munich, and certainly over the past year, the 33-year-old has probably been the world's most complete player, with the greatest influence on his team's play. People already compare his work on the pitch to that of a quarterback. As Bayern's centre-forward, Kane sometimes launches attacks with long aerial passes from his own half. He also wins challenges on the edge of his own penalty area. That side of his game recently prompted Germany head coach Jürgen Klopp to spark a questionable debate, but Kane has kept scoring at the same rate.

With his extraordinary scoring rate and titles at Bayern, Kane had a strong sporting case. His team-first approach on the pitch and impeccable conduct off it, as a leader and role model, mattered just as much. Fans can welcome that at a time when sponsors, agents and players themselves make fortunes from thoroughly exaggerated superstar profiles. It could be worth its weight in gold to Bayern Munich in the coming years.

Could Harry Kane's Ballon d'Or help Bayern Munich with Michael Olise?

Another player who prefers to let his actions speak louder than words is reportedly set to extend his contract with the German record champions again in the coming months. His current deal runs until 2029. On Monday evening, Michael Olise was among the first to congratulate Kane. Olise finished "only" ninth after a magnificent year of 27 goals and 41 assists for Bayern and France. His team-mate, though, reached football's summit. At Bayern Munich. In the Bundesliga. Without the biggest prize at a World Cup or in the Champions League.

For Olise, that could send a clear message and give Bayern's decision-makers an argument in negotiations with the sought-after exceptional talent. Performances for Bayern in the Bundesliga earn international recognition. A move to Real Madrid, Barca or another supposedly bigger club with more influence over individual awards is not necessarily required to claim football's greatest personal honours.

"Without his team-mates at the German record champions, Kane explained in London on Monday evening, "this would not have been possible. The way you drive me on and the way we push each other to perform at our best means a great deal to me." It was "an honour to play for Bayern Munich. Representing you is a real privilege. I'm delighted to bring this trophy back to Bayern Munich."

Those words will be music to the ears of sporting director Max Eberl, who was ill and stayed at home, president Herbert Hainer, director of sport Christoph Freund, CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen and powerful supervisory board members Uli Hoeneß and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge. Not least as they prepare to persuade Olise to stay in Munich for the long term.

Beyond Olise, Kane's Ballon d'Or could open doors in other transfer negotiations. In an overheated market, Bayern now have another substantial argument when trying to persuade rising or established top players to join them: their golden boy from England.

"Harry Kane is an asset to Bayern Munich," Eberl, who was ill and had stayed at home, said again after Kane's victory. That had always been true, but perhaps never more so than on this evening.

Harry Kane: Bayern Munich statistics