Harry Kane has ended a 25-year wait for an Englishman to win the Ballon d’Or after being crowned this year’s winner in London on Monday night.
The England and Bayern Munich man was a worthy winner after a stellar year, even by his sky-high standards. The 33-year-old notched a total of 61 goals in 51 matches at club level last term and when you add in his international goals the overall tally came to a whopping 73 goals across just 65 games.
Only one player at a club in Europe’s top five leagues has ever scored more goals in a season – Lionel Messi for Barcelona in 2011/12.
Speaking after being awarded the prize, Kane said: “Not many people would have thought it, and maybe even I wouldn’t have thought I’d be this far.
“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.”
Kane is the fifth English recipient of the famed gong and the first since Michael Owen back in 2001. The other three winners are Stanley Matthews (1956), Bobby Charlton (1966) and Kevin Keegan (twice, in 1978 and 1979).
