Last nite in his home city of London Harry Kane became England’s first Ballon d’Or winner in 25 years, beating heavy competition from Lamine Yamal and Kylian Mbappe.
Alexia Putellas took the women’s medal for a third time, extending Spain’s dominance of the honour, after her involvement in bringing Barcelona to last season’s Champions League before going to London City Lionesses, AFP reported.
The inaugural Ballon d’Or ceremony on English soil got off to an inauspicious start as London traffic created a delay of nearly an hour with many of the celebrity names arriving late.
But the hometown hero did have his happy ending as Kane picked up the crowning prize of his career to far.
The Bayern Munich striker scored an unbelievable 73 goals in 65 games for club and country last season, inspiring the German giants to a league and cup double.
He also found the net six times as England finished third at the World Cup.
“It wouldn’t be possible without you guys (his Bayern Munich teammates) and the rest of the team, the way you guys push me, the way we compete.” “So thank you very much,” he remarked as he picked up the trophy.
Kane’s medal collection is restricted to German domestic silverware since joining Bayern in 2023.
He was on the losing side with Tottenham in the 2019 Champions League final against Liverpool and suffered painful defeat twice in the European Championship final with England.
But his incredible consistency in scoring goals has seen him win the game’s top individual prize.
Earlier Kane told our correspondent: “Moving to Bayern Munich is a big step in my career.
“For some it was a gamble but for me it has always been about growing and seeing if I could get better around the team-mates, the team, the club and it has pushed me to another level.
“Being a number nine for Bayern and England you’re expected to score goals and to do that the number of times I did last year is something I’m really proud of,” he continued.
Putellas returns to the top
Putellas’s third Ballon d’Or crowns her return to the summit of the women’s game after an anterior cruciate ligament injury stalled her ascent four years ago. The winner in 2021 and 2022,
Putellas replaces her Spain teammate Aitana Bonmatí, who had won the award for the previous three years but was out for much of last season with a broken leg.
“I’ve been trying to live every moment like it’s my last since the injury because you never know if it’s going to happen again,” Putellas informed our correspondent in an interview last month.
“I never felt that the trophy was ‘my’… I’ve already been through it once so I can enjoy it more now,” she added.
Yamal made the most daring design statement of the finalists, with a pink blossom on the front of his black suit.
The Barcelona winger won the first award of the nite, young star of the year for the third year in a row.
But the 19-year-old was just denied becoming the youngest Ballon d’Or winner when he failed to reach his peak form as Spain won the World Cup.
Mbappe scored two goals to outdo Yamal as Real Madrid edged Barcelona 2-1 in El Clasico on Sunday.
But his search for the Ballon d’Or continues despite a prolific year for France and Real Madrid.
Luis de la Fuente has been awarded men’s coach of the year after leading Spain to World Cup success, beating off competition from Paris Saint-Germain’s Luis Enrique and Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta.
“I am very lucky to work with a team of such a high level, both professionally and humanly,” de la Fuente remarked.
Barcelona’s Pere Romeu has won the women’s coach of the year award.
Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka has earned the Socrates award for his humanitarian activities
Paris Saint-Germain were given no big individual prizes despite winning a second successive Champions League but did have the consolation of men’s club of the year.
The finest men’s and women’s goalkeepers were Spanish goalkeepers Unai Simón and Cata Coll.
About the Author
