Harry Kane celebrates, Ballon d’Or draws nearer in London
In the Bundesliga match against SC Freiburg, Harry Kane celebrated the first goal of Dayot Upamecano, before in a few hours the decision on the Ballon d’Or – the world footballer of the year – is made at the London Palladium and the atmosphere in the stadium was electrifying.
Reader vote and share of votes
All 305 participating readers have already made their choice: 81 percent of the votes give the striker of FC Bayern the preference, because they want to make him the Ballon d’Or winner.
Among the 30 nominees, besides Kane, are Kylian Mbappé, Lamine Yamal, Michael Olise, Dayot Upamecano and Luis Díaz. For many, the Englishman Kane is considered the favourite. Many readers see the Englishman as the favourite because he scores consistently in the current season.
Reader opinions on Kane
Reinhard Pausch praises his game understanding: “His game understanding, his passes and their accuracy are unique.” Klaus Hartmann highlights the precise passes and the quick grasp of game situations. Pedro End describes him as “the most complex player”, Ralf Brum speaks of a “complete package” of skill and team spirit. Oliver Wegener emphasizes that Kane supports the entire pitch, from attack to defence, while Volker Sahl simply says: “Who else?”
Even Mbappé loses the Ballon d'Or battle to Kane
Other critics, however, doubt his international record. Barbara Metz argues that he has been “pampered” at Bayern and his goal ratio without penalties is less impressive. Peter Poth counters that penalties also have to be converted. Steffen Lange would rather see the Brazilian Raphinha, who, however, is not among the top‑30. Bastian Kaufmann warns of the danger of glorifying a single player in a team sport.
Kane most recently scored against Arsenal in the tenth consecutive Champions‑League match, overtaking Robert Lewandowski, who had previously scored in nine straight top‑flight games.
The winner will be announced today at 9 p.m. at the gala in the London Palladium. The result is being watched worldwide, because the Ballon d’Or represents the highest individual honour in football.