Harry Kane goes into Monday’s Ballon d’Or ceremony as the bookmakers’ favourite, built on a goal tally that neither Kylian Mbappe nor Lamine Yamal can match. Mbappe has surged into second favouritism, while Yamal’s case rests on creativity and a World Cup triumph with Spain. According to Skysports.com.
Kane’s goal tally sets him apart in a tight Ballon d’Or three-way race
The case for Kane is built on volume. He scored 73 goals for club and country last season, against 58 for Mbappe and 25 for Yamal. His 61 for Bayern were 19 more than any other player in Europe’s big-five leagues and the most in a season since Cristiano Ronaldo’s 61 for Real Madrid in 2014/15, earning him a second Golden Shoe.
Kane also helped Bayern win the Bundesliga and German Cup, and they reached the Champions League semi-finals before a 6-5 aggregate defeat to eventual winners Paris Saint-Germain. He added 12 goals for England, six of them in a World Cup run that made him the nation’s all-time leading scorer at the tournament, and England took bronze by beating Mbappe’s France.
Mbappe’s argument rests on the biggest stages. He won the World Cup Golden Boot with 10 goals, lifting his all-time World Cup tally to 22, and was top scorer in LaLiga with 25. His 15 in the Champions League were one more than Kane managed, even though Real Madrid went out in the last eight. Against that, he won no trophy with club or country.
Yamal, 19, is 14 years Kane’s junior and is aiming to become the youngest winner in the award’s history. His edge is in creation, with 20 assists for club and country compared with 13 for Mbappe and eight for Kane, plus the most dribbles at the World Cup (58) and across Europe’s top-five leagues (265). His 45 goal involvements still trail Kane’s 81 and Mbappe’s 71.
A hamstring injury in mid-April ended Yamal’s club season and initially raised doubts over his World Cup place. He returned as a substitute in Spain’s goalless draw with Cape Verde on June 15 and scored only once as Spain won the tournament, where team-mates Rodri and Pau Cubarsi took the player of the tournament and young player awards. He has campaigned openly for the award.
Pundits lean heavily towards Kane. Jamie Carragher notes that only Lionel Messi has scored more in a season than his 73, while Tim Sherwood, Sue Smith, Michael Dawson and Clinton Morrison also back the England captain. Dawson names Yamal as the rival to beat, and Paul Merson says he would not be shocked by a different winner.
Kane has stayed measured about his chances, saying after Bayern’s draw with Arsenal: “I’d love to win it, but we will have to wait and see.” Victory would make him the first Englishman to win since Michael Owen in 2001 and the first Bayern player in 45 years, with the London ceremony paying tribute to inaugural winner Matthews. Any of the three would make it a third year running with a first-time winner.
