Harry Kane Wins 2026 Ballon d’Or: Full List of Winners from 1956 to 2026

Bayern Munich and England striker Harry Kane has reportedly won the 2026 Ballon d’Or, beating Real Madrid forward Kylian Mbappé and Barcelona youngster Lamine Yamal to the prestigious individual football award.

According to the report, the 33-year-old striker was named the winner at a ceremony held in London on Monday night, following an impressive 2025/26 campaign in which he reportedly scored 73 goals for club and country.

The reported victory would place Kane among the elite group of footballers to have won the Ballon d’Or, an award presented annually to recognise outstanding individual performances in football.

The award’s history stretches back to 1956, when England winger Stanley Matthews became its inaugural winner. Over the decades, the honour has recognised some of the sport’s most celebrated players, including Alfredo Di Stefano, Johan Cruyff, Franz Beckenbauer, Michel Platini, Ronaldo Nazário and Zinedine Zidane.

In the modern era, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have dominated the award. Messi has won it eight times, while Ronaldo has claimed five titles, making them the two most decorated winners in the award’s history.

Other notable winners include George Weah, who became the first African player to win the award in 1995, and Luka Modrić, who ended the Messi-Ronaldo winning streak in 2018.

The award was not presented in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Recent winners listed in the supplied report include Karim Benzema in 2022, Messi in 2023, Rodri in 2024 and Ousmane Dembélé in 2025.

The reported 2026 result would add Kane’s name to the list of winners and mark another milestone in his career. However, the winner, ceremony details and reported 73-goal tally should be confirmed against official Ballon d’Or records before publication.

Below is the historical winners’ list provided in the source report, covering the award from its inaugural edition through 2026.