Can another Englishman win the Ballon d’Or, and more importantly, is this the year that Harry Kane finally gets the recognition he deserves?
While there’s the argument that the Ballon d’Or has lost its credibility and footballers should pay no attention to the award, we can’t negate the fact that it’s still the most significant award in football history.
We can go on and on about it, but a good number of us jumped for joy after hearing that Ousmane Dembele won the last edition.
Given that we’re in a new season, the race to win the Ballon d’Or has begun again, and there are three leading names on people’s minds already. Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland and Harry Kane.
Both Mbappe and Haaland are getting much of the recognition, but it does seem unfair not to talk about Harry Kane and his exploits this season.
The English striker has been scoring for fun, both in the Bundesliga and the Champions League. Having broken the record for quickest footballer to reach 100 goals in a club in Europe’s top five leagues (100 goals for Bayern in 104 games, Ronaldo and Haaland held the previous record with 105 games), Harry Kane now has 18 goals and 3 assists in all competitions, and it’s just October.
Apart from the goals which win you games and are a big part of Kane’s style of play, the English striker has been getting more involved in the build-up, creating for his teammates and even deputising as a 10, reminiscent of his Tottenham days.
So far, Harry Kane is among the top 3 best players of the season, and it’s impossible not to put him in the Ballon d’Or conversation. However, we can argue that it’s too early for that, given that it’s a World Cup year.
How Does The World Cup Affect The Ballon D’Or Winner?
More often than not, during a World Cup year, the Ballon d’Or goes to the individual who wins the World Cup off the back of an impressive or sometimes, a little above average season. A recent example is Messi after the 2022 World Cup, where he won the Ballon d’Or even though Haaland won the treble, was unarguably the best player in the World.
How Does This Affect Harry Kane?
For Kane, it means major trophies matter. Bayern seem on track to win the Bundesliga. Their current form has seen them win 10 games in a row, and right now, they seem unstoppable.
For Kane to have a bigger shot at the Ballon d’Or this year and finish higher than 13th in the next rankings, Bayern need to translate their current form into the UCL and win it.
Kane also needs England to perform well at the World Cup, maybe even reach the semi-finals if they fail to win the trophy.
Harry Kane is arguably one of the best strikers of his generation, and winning the Ballon d’Or would be a nice tap on the shoulder for an excellent career.
