Why do people believe Harry Kane doesnt deserve the Ballon D'Or?

He also became the first Bundesliga player to win it in three decades, but the critics arent letting up, many showed up even after the trophy was handed over, and there were plenty.

The case against him, fairly stated

He doesn't win the big ones. This is the oldest and loudest objection. Former manager Mauricio Pochettino, while backing Harry Kane to win, worried he might be "punished" because he played in both the Champions League and World Cup semifinals but won neither. Samir Nasri, the former Manchester City star, argued flat out that Kane did not deserve the award, justifying his stance by saying Kane doesn't make the difference in the big matches.

He doesn't make people tune in. Former Premier League winner Joleon Lescott put it plainly: "I don't want to sound disrespectful, but people don't necessarily tune in to watch Harry Kane. There's the talent, but the fundamentals of his game are ridiculously high... What he's done and what he has achieved is definitely taken for granted." That gap between appreciation and excitement has followed Kane for years.

His numbers were consistently overlooked. Kane finished 13th in the 2025 Ballon d'Or voting, despite being the Bundesliga champion and amassing 44 goals in 45 games in 2023–24 while leading England to the final of Euro 2024. That year he still couldn't climb higher than 10th in the vote. The frustration, as Wayne Rooney noted, was that even Kane's own assessment was clear: "I could score 100 goals this season, but if I don't win the Champions League or the World Cup, you're probably not going to win the Ballon d'Or."

All in all, Kane finished on 73 goals across the season for club and country, an astonishing number, and the best scoring season by any player in European football history besides Messi's 82 in 2011–12. He scored 61 goals across 51 club appearances to inspire Bayern Munich to Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal, and Franz Beckenbauer Supercup success, then scored 6 more to help England reach the World Cup semifinals and a first ever third-placed finish.

The honest conclusion from most analysts is that there were convincing arguments for the 10 players on the shortlist, making 2026 "the most open and contentious Ballon d'Or race in decades."

My Take: The Ballon d'Or Should Have Gone to Mbappé

The critics aren't wrong that Kane has rarely been the most electric player on the pitch. I believe the jury got it wrong. Lamine Yamal got the right award: the Kopa Trophy for the best young player, for the 3rd year in a row. But the Ballon d'Or should have gone to Kylian Mbappé. Harry Kane was a top scorer, yes. The overall winner, no.

Even Harry Kane's Own Leagues Picked Someone Else

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  Germany: the Bundesliga named his teammate Michael Olise its Player of the Season. Olise had an incredible year and gave more assists than anyone in the league.
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  England: fans voted Jude Bellingham England Men's Player of the Year for the 2nd year in a row. His 7 goals at the World Cup are the most by an England man at a major tournament.
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  The captain's World Cup: Kane gave away a penalty in the round of 16 against Mexico, and Argentina players called for a red card in the semifinal after he covered his mouth while talking to the referee. None was shown.

Against Whom?

On social media, some fans joked that many of Kane's goals came against "farmers in the German countryside," meaning the weaker teams of the Bundesliga. 36 of his 61 goals for Bayern Munich came in the league. Against Europe's best, in the Champions League, Mbappé scored more, 15 to 14, and scored in both quarterfinals against Kane's Bayern.

Who Are the Judges?

• 100 journalists, 1 from each of the top 100 countries in the FIFA world ranking. Each ranks their top 10 players: 15 points for 1st, then 12, 10, 8, 7, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1.
• The organizer: France Football runs the vote and the ceremony, with UEFA. A team from France Football and L'Équipe picks the 30 nominees, with input from Luís Figo and Fabio Capello.
• The 3 criteria, in order: individual performance, team performance and trophies, then class and fair play.
• The season: August 3, 2025 to July 19, 2026.

Why I Believe They Made This Error

• Goal count won over the World Cup: Australia's juror, Daniel Garb, said "it came down to the sheer weight of goals," while admitting "the World Cup is what made me doubt it."
• A career award, not a season award: Italy's juror, Paolo Condò, voted Mbappé 1st and said Kane "probably benefitted from the 'career effect'" in "the most uncertain award of all time."
• It was razor close: Vincent Garcia of France Football said Mbappé led for most of the voting and the final gap was "extremely small."
• Not every juror agreed with himself: Croatia's juror, Zdravko Reić, ranked Kane only 6th, then said he made a "mistake in evaluating Harry Kane's performance."
• Bad blood with the organizers: some believe Mbappé's strained relationship with the French organizers hurt how he was seen. Real Madrid fell out with France Football, the French magazine that runs the award, and he skipped the ceremony with his club in 2024 and 2025.

The award is meant to go to the best player of the season. On the biggest stages, the Champions League and the World Cup, that was Kylian Mbappé.