Harry Kane’s case for the 2026 Ballon d’Or continues to gain recognition, and former England star Michael Owen believes the Bayern Munich striker should be right at the center of the conversation.
Owen, a former Liverpool, Real Madrid, Newcastle United, and Manchester United striker, knows what it takes to perform at the highest level. The Englishman won the Ballon d’Or himself in 2001 after a remarkable year with Liverpool, becoming the first English player to win the award since Kevin Keegan in 1979.
Owen also scored 40 goals in 89 appearances for England and remains one of the most accomplished English forwards of his generation.
Now, Owen sees Kane as one of the two players most deserving of the individual honor.
“Yeah, absolutely. There’s a few contenders, but you wouldn’t say there’s a massive standout. Harry Kane did incredibly well for Bayern Munich, obviously won the league. His goals were just eye-watering, the amount of goals he scored. Of course had a very, very good World Cup, a solid World Cup, scoring plenty of goals,” Owen told Casino.org. “England came third in that tournament, I mean, who else is there? I thought Rodri was outstanding. He won the domestic double at Man City, the two cup competitions (FA Cup and Carabao Cup).
“Of course after that, Rodri went on to win a World Cup, and he was probably the best player in the tournament.
He looks like he’s back to his best after a bit of a slow return from his knee, which absolutely happens with a major injury. If I was voting, it would be between those two players.”
Owen’s comments highlight what has made Kane’s Ballon d’Or candidacy so compelling. His argument is not simply based on the number of goals Kane scored, although those numbers are certainly difficult to overlook. Kane combined extraordinary individual production with team success at Bayern Munich, while also delivering on the international stage with England.
For Kane, the award would represent something particularly significant. Despite establishing himself as one of the world’s elite strikers for more than a decade, individual recognition on this scale has remained just out of reach.
A Ballon d’Or victory would finally give Kane the individual honor that his career has arguably deserved for years. Owen, a former winner of the award himself, now sees Kane as one of the two players he would consider above the rest.
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