Harry Kane Wins Ballon d'Or in London, Ending England's 25-Year Wait

Once mocked as the most famous footballer never to win a trophy, Harry Kane now has football's most prestigious individual honour, the Ballon d'Or, in his cabinet. At the London Palladium on Monday, he gently planted a kiss on the trophy and lifted it into the air with a look of disbelief on his face.

Hundreds of England fans had lined up outside the venue for this moment, while millions more across the country had waited for it. Amid thunderous applause from the crowd, Kane basked in his moment of glory. The achievement was described as a day 25 years in the making.

At 33 years old, when many of his peers are past their prime, Kane is peaking at the perfect time, the report said. He was never the superstar; for years he struggled for game time and was loaned from one club to another.

Kane told DAZN: 'Not many people would have thought it, and maybe even I wouldn't have thought I'd be this far.' He added: '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.'

Kane said he had to bide his time and work hard; a lot of times it was him against his own mind, and he had to show self-belief and determination. He said that grounded him, even when he did make it at the highest level, to keep improving and keep getting better.

Hardships were a constant from the early days. At eight years old, Kane joined the Arsenal academy, but that did not last long. Labelled 'a bit chubby' and 'not very athletic' by then academy director Liam Brady, the forward was released after just one season.

By 13, Kane was on the development programme at Tottenham Hotspur. Academy director John McDermott described him as the 'runt of the litter'. In a 2016 interview with Goal, McDermott said: 'He was not fast. He was the runt of the litter — 30 percent down on the rest of the group!'

It took Tottenham some convincing before Kane got his shot at senior football in 2009, and that was not smooth either. Kane endured loan spells across the English football pyramid, including Leyton Orient, Millwall, Leicester City and Norwich City. There were almost two years between his first Spurs goal, against Shamrock Rovers in 2011, and his next, against Hull City in 2013. Even after his breakthrough season in 2014-15, Kane was dubbed a 'one-season wonder'.

During his 14 senior seasons at the north London club, Kane set records that once seemed unbelievable — three Premier League Golden Boots, six PFA Premier League Team of the Year nominations, and a club-record 280 goals in more than 430 appearances in all competitions.

But for all his individual brilliance, Kane walked away from Spurs with no major trophies. He was on the losing side in the 2019 Champions League final against Liverpool and was in England teams that twice lost the European Championship final.

Kane waited until he was 31 to lift his first silverware — the 2024-25 Bundesliga title with Bayern Munich. Since then he has added four more club trophies, including another German top-flight title and the German Cup.

Kane is England's record scorer with 91 goals, the highest-scoring English player in the Champions League with 58, and the second-highest scorer in the Premier League with 213. Last month he also became the fastest player to reach 100 Bundesliga goals, hitting the landmark on his 98th league appearance for Bayern.

His 73 goals across club and country last season were the most by a footballer since Lionel Messi's haul of 82 in 2011-12. Kane told UEFA.com that he has always had the passing range, the vision and the football brain throughout his career, and that it has flourished in the last couple of years.

Unlike Kylian Mbappe and Lamine Yamal, who both won the World Cup as teenagers, Kane did not appear destined for greatness, and while they dominated headlines in the build-up to the award ceremony, Kane let his football do the talking without a mega publicity campaign. Monday's win ended England's 25-year wait for a Ballon d'Or winner.