Written by Han Bing With 22 goals and 3 assists in the first 15 matches this season, averaging a goal every 54 minutes and involvement every 48 minutes... 32-year-old Kane has at last arrived at his genuine superstar prime. Bayern, with 15 consecutive wins to start the season, is surging forward, and England, Kane’s national team, is among the favorites for next year's World Cup. Both club and country are performing strongly, and British media outlet BBC openly expresses high hopes for Kane: Will he lift the coveted Ballon d'Or trophy at the Châtelet Theatre in Paris next September?

Of course, Kane faces fierce competition. Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappé are also at their early-season peaks. Mbappé’s Real Madrid and France have strong chances to win both the Champions League and World Cup. However, Bayern, Kane’s club, seems to be in better overall form, and Kane himself understands this may be his best chance to win the Ballon d'Or in his career: “I definitely want to win the Ballon d'Or; it would be the greatest reward for the achievements of both myself and the team.”

All of England is eager for a new Ballon d'Or winner; the last English player to win it was Owen in 2001. Whether Kane can become the fifth Englishman ever to claim the Ballon d'Or depends on whether he can maintain consistent performance throughout the season, as he has for most of his career. Naturally, the full support from Bayern and the England team will also be decisive. As one of the best strikers of the past decade, Kane’s overall performance deserves a Ballon d'Or, but he needs better opportunities.

Ballon d'Or Level Stats, Kane Finally Achieves Them

Kane’s “Ballon d'Or level” statistics at the start of this season suggest this may be his best chance to compete for the award in his career. Last season, Kane won the Bundesliga title, the Golden Boot, and Best Player awards, securing his first major career trophies. Yet, in the Ballon d'Or rankings, he only placed 13th and has never ranked in the top 10 before. Clearly, for one of the best strikers in nearly a decade, that ranking was unfair. This season’s strong start allows Kane to realistically aspire to challenge for the Ballon d'Or.

The stats are the strongest “votes” for the Ballon d'Or: In September, Kane became the fastest player in the 21st century’s top five leagues to score 100 goals for a new club, reaching the milestone in just 104 games. This season, he has scored 20 goals in only 12 matches. At this pace, the Opta data platform predicts Kane will score 45 Bundesliga goals this season, surpassing Lewandowski’s single-season Bundesliga record of 41 goals.

On the Champions League stage, Kane’s recent form is also Ballon d'Or worthy. Since joining Bayern for the 2023/24 Champions League campaign, he leads all players with 24 goals and 30 goal involvements (24 goals and 6 assists). In the first 60 Champions League matches of his career, only Van Nistelrooy (48 goals) has scored more than Kane. Considering Kane spent much of his career at the less competitive Tottenham, his Champions League goal tally is set to rise significantly after moving to Bayern. Surpassing Cristiano Ronaldo, Messi, and Lewandowski is difficult, but overtaking Bayern’s Müller and Real Madrid’s Raúl to enter the top 10 all-time Champions League scorers seems very likely.

With the Messi and Ronaldo era over, the Ballon d'Or has entered a more open contest. As forwards, Benzema and Dembélé won the award without having stats as overwhelmingly dominant as Messi or Ronaldo. In the 2021/22 season, Benzema scored 44 goals and provided 15 assists in 46 matches, winning the Spanish Super Cup, La Liga, and Champions League treble. In 2024/25, Dembélé scored 35 goals and gave 16 assists in 53 matches, winning four trophies: the French Super Cup, French Cup, Ligue 1, and Champions League, and reached the Club World Cup final. By comparison, Kane’s start this season is even better than theirs, and he has already won the German Super Cup. If he maintains this form, the Bundesliga title should be secure; success in the Champions League and next year’s World Cup will depend on luck.

Being a Complete Striker Is an Additional Advantage

Beyond his top-level goal-scoring stats as a forward, Kane has extra “bonus points.” German football legend and 1990 Ballon d'Or winner Lothar Matthäus believes Kane makes a greater contribution to world football. In a column for German Sky Sports, he wrote: This season, Kane has redefined the striker role, much like Neuer redefined goalkeeping 15 years ago. Matthäus thinks the Ballon d'Or should reward not only the best player of the season but also innovators who bring new ideas to world football.

Kane has made the striker role almost a “self-contained central axis” player. Besides scoring, he excels in passing, dribbling, tackling, and interceptions, combining the roles of scorer, playmaker, versatile midfielder, and defender. As a striker, he can deliver precise long passes over 50 meters and even take defensive positions close to his own defenders, sliding in to clear the ball inside his penalty area. This makes him a uniquely exceptional player in world football over the past decade, with phenomenal all-around abilities that are a significant advantage in his Ballon d'Or pursuit.

Of course, Kane is fully aware that beyond his goal stats and comprehensive skills, Ballon d'Or awards in big tournament years often favor players who win the most important trophies: “The Ballon d'Or is actually a team award, just won by the best individual in the team. If I keep up my current form and both Bayern and England have successful seasons, I will have a chance to achieve this goal.” Bayern currently leads the Champions League with three straight wins, and England has qualified for the World Cup with six consecutive qualifying wins. Kane’s hope for a successful double campaign is at least very promising right now.

Both Bayern and England hope Kane will earn Ballon d'Or glory. After all, the last Bayern player to win the Ballon d'Or was Rummenigge back in 1981. In the 2019/20 season, Bayern won the German Cup, Bundesliga, Champions League, and UEFA Super Cup, with Lewandowski taking the Champions League, Bundesliga, and German Cup Golden Boots and Bundesliga Best Player awards. However, France Football canceled the Ballon d'Or that year due to the pandemic, leaving Bayern fans disappointed. As Germany's top club, Bayern’s history includes only three Ballon d'Or winners: Gerd Müller, Beckenbauer, and Rummenigge. Since 2002, players like Kahn, Ribéry, Neuer, and Lewandowski narrowly missed out, much to Bayern’s regret.

Five years ago, Lewandowski missed his best chance to win the Ballon d'Or due to uncontrollable circumstances. Now, Kane has started this season even better than Lewandowski did then. Next, it will depend on whether luck will favor the 32-year-old English striker.