Batting superstar Virat Kohli has congratulated English footballer Harry Kane on winning the 2026 edition of the Ballon d’Or. The Three Lions captain, who represents Bayern Munich at the club level, defeated Kylian Mbappe, Lamine Yamal, Rodri, Lionel Messi and 25 others on Monday (October 27) to win football’s biggest individual award.
Kane, who moved to Germany after playing for Spurs in the Premier League for many years, topped the goalscorers’ list in the German top flight and also scored six goals for England in the FIFA World Cup 2026, in addition to providing one assist.
In his now-viral tweet for Kane, Kohli congratulated him and stated that he deserved every bit of the award.
Harry my friend, you deserve every bit of this award for your
resilience, hard work and honesty with which you’ve carried yourself through all these years playing football at the top. Really happy for you. God bless you and your family. They must all be very proud of you as you would be of your own journey. My best wishes always. Congratulations 👏❤️ @HKane
— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) October 27, 2026
“Harry my friend, you deserve every bit of this award for your resilience, hard work and honesty with which you’ve carried yourself through all these years playing football at the top. Really happy for you. God bless you and your family. They must all be very proud of you as you would be of your own journey. My best wishes always. Congratulations @HKane,” Kohli tweeted.
1st English player in 25 years
Harry Kane is the first English player in 25 years to win the Ballon d’Or. Before him in 2001, Michael Owen won the golden ball.
“I love to represent my country and to bring this trophy back to them and have an English winner I think is something that’s really, really special, especially here in London,” Kane told AFP. “What a crazy night and I’m really, really happy.”
“Making the move to Bayern Munich was a big step in my career,” Kane said. “Some people saw it as a risk but for me it was always about improving and seeing if I could get better around the team-mates, the team, the club and it has pushed me onto another level.
“Being a number nine for Bayern and England you are expected to score goals and to do that the number of times I did last year is something I’m really proud of,” he added.
