Harry Kane dedicated the 2026 Ballon d'Or to his wife Katie Goodland and his entire family. The English striker received the prestigious award at a ceremony at the London Palladium after scoring 73 goals for Bayern Munich and the England national team in the 2025/26 season.
Kane beat Kylian Mbappe and Lamine Yamal in the voting to become the first Englishman to win the award since Michael Owen in 2001. He also received the award for best striker. Bayern finished the season with a domestic treble, and Kane became the top scorer in the German championship for the third time in a row.
In his emotional speech, Kane turned to Goodland, whom he has known since childhood. “This is a trophy that we celebrate together – not me, but you and me, the whole family“, he said, quoted by “The Independent“.
The footballer called his wife his best friend and “his biggest supporter“. Kane said that she wanted his success even more than he did, sacrificed her personal time to help him pursue his dreams, and that the award would not have been possible without her support.
“I knew that waiting for the result to be known was terrible for you. Here it is – "We did it," the striker added in his message to Goodland. The couple have four children - Ivy, Vivian, Louis and Henry.
After receiving the award, Kane also paid tribute to those around him. He mentioned his parents and brother Charlie, who have supported him since he was a child, as well as his teammates, coaches and staff at Bayern and England.
The striker also thanked Tottenham, where he began his professional career. According to „Sky Sports“, Kane said that the individual award was also a result of the work of the players who passed to him and created spaces for him on the pitch.
With his success, Kane joined the list of English winners of the „Golden Ball“, which also includes Stanley Matthews, Bobby Charlton, Kevin Keegan and Michael Owen.
Sources: the-independent.com, skysports.com