Harry Kane has been crowned the winner of the 2026 Ballon d'Or, becoming the first Englishman in 25 years to claim the award. The Bayern Munich and England striker finished ahead of Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe and Barcelona's Lamine Yamal in the voting at a ceremony in London on Monday night.
Kane's achievement was widely celebrated as deserved recognition for an exceptional season. He scored 73 goals for club and country, leading Bayern to a domestic double and the semi-finals of the Champions League, while also spearheading England's run to the World Cup semi-finals.
Nasri's Criticism
However, former Manchester City and France midfielder Samir Nasri offered a very different reaction. Speaking on Canal+, Nasri argued that statistics alone should not have been enough to secure the award.
"Harry Kane, Ballon d'Or... OK, the statistics made the difference," he said. "He's a fantastic player with so many qualities. But he's never been the player who carried his team somewhere or made his team win in the very big matches. There's often a slight weakness. But he's an extraordinary player."
When asked if he was not excited by Kane's win, Nasri replied: "No, that's an understatement!"
Record-Breaking Season
Kane's tally of 61 goals in 51 games for Bayern last season is the most by a player in a single campaign in the German club's history. Including his goals for England, he managed 73 goals and eight assists in 65 matches.
Despite his individual brilliance, Bayern were beaten by Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League semi-finals, while England fell at the same stage at the World Cup against Argentina.
Henry's Praise
France legend Thierry Henry, one of the presenters at the ceremony, had a classy message for Kane after he beat Mbappe to the prize.
"I would always back my fellow Frenchmen but I have to say something about Harry Kane," he said. "I have seen him since the beginning. He had to suffer really hard to achieve what he has achieved. A worthy winner, well done."
Kane himself touched on that suffering in his own comments. "Not many people would have thought it, and maybe even I wouldn't have thought I'd be this far," he told DAZN. "I had to go through many ups and downs, especially early in my career. I was never the person that people thought was going to be the superstar like some of the guys now. I had to bide my time and work hard, a lot of times it was me against my own mind and I had to come through it, I had to show self-belief, determination. I think that grounded me even when I did make it at the highest level to keep improving and keep getting better."
