Harry Kane won the Ballon d'Or on Monday, becoming the first English player to claim football's individual award since Michael Owen in 2001. The 33-year-old Bayern Munich striker scored 61 goals in 51 club matches last season, the most any Bayern player has ever managed in a single campaign.
Kane's total of 73 goals across all competitions for club and country ranks second only to Lionel Messi's 82-goal season in 2011-12. He led the Bundesliga with 36 goals, 17 clear of the second-place scorer, and added 14 Champions League goals as Bayern reached the semi-finals. He also netted 10 German Cup goals and 12 for England, including six at the World Cup.
Kylian Mbappe of Real Madrid finished second in the voting, with Barcelona's Lamine Yamal third. Kane becomes the fifth Englishman to win the award overall, joining Stanley Matthews (1956), Bobby Charlton (1966) and Kevin Keegan (1978, 1979). He is also the first Bayern player to win since Karl-Heinz Rummenigge in 1981.
The award stands out because Kane did not win either of football's two biggest trophies last season. Bayern lost in both the World Cup and Champions League semi-finals. Kane did win the German double, the Bundesliga and German Cup, lifting his career trophy total substantially. Only once in the past 20 years has the Ballon d'Or gone to a player who won none of the World Cup, Champions League, European Championship or Copa America. Kane joins Messi (three times) and Cristiano Ronaldo in this category.
"Not many people would have thought it, and maybe even I wouldn't have thought I'd be this far," Kane told Dazn. "I had to go through many ups and downs, especially early in my career."
England manager Thomas Tuchel called the award a "huge honour," while Prince William said Kane was a "brilliant captain" and "remarkable player." The Wembley arches were lit gold on Monday to mark the occasion.
Kane has begun this season in strong form, scoring 10 goals in 12 Bayern matches and six in four Nations League games for England. Bayern remain unbeaten in the Bundesliga and Champions League this season.