Harry Kane proud of Ballon d’Or nomination after record-breaking 73-goal season

Harry Kane says he is “extremely proud” to be in contention for the Ballon d’Or after scoring 73 goals for Bayern Munich and England during a record-breaking campaign.

The England captain’s tally was the second-highest recorded by a player in a single season in football history. Only Lionel Messi, who scored 82 goals in 2011-12, has managed more. Cristiano Ronaldo scored 69 during that same season.

Kane admitted he remains surprised by the scale of his achievement, particularly because Messi and Ronaldo were the players he watched establish such extraordinary standards while he was growing up.

“I grew up watching Messi and Ronaldo, the era of them just dominating and dominating,” Kane told TNT Sports. “These are numbers that I just thought were silly, which they are. They are the two greatest of our generation and arguably of all time.

“So 73 goals, even for me, I am pretty amazed by that.”

The Bayern striker is the bookmakers’ favourite to win the award. If successful, he would become only the fifth Englishman to claim the Ballon d’Or and the first since Michael Owen in 2001.

Owen, who Kane admired as a youngster, sent him a message saying he hoped the former Tottenham forward would join the select group of English winners. Kane said receiving that encouragement from a player he had watched as a child had added to his pride.

“I’m extremely proud of the season I put up, for sure,” he said. “Hearing players like Michael say that – I grew up watching Michael play and I was a massive England fan – I think it just fills me with pride.”

Kane, who moved from Tottenham to Bayern in 2023, recognises that the outcome is now outside his control.

“Of course, now it is out of my hands, it is down to the voters and the people who decide it,” he said. “The season I had was my best season by far, and we’ll have to wait and see.

“I’m happy that I am in contention.”

The 73-goal campaign represented Kane’s best season by a considerable distance, but he has already switched his focus to improving further.

Bayern began their Bundesliga campaign with a 5-1 victory over Stuttgart before being held to a goalless draw by Schalke. Kane’s nomination comes as he attempts to build on his prolific form at club and international level, with the final Ballon d’Or decision to be made by the relevant voters.

Although he is pleased to have been included among the contenders, the England captain says the recognition itself is now the limit of what he can influence. The decision over whether he becomes the first English winner since Owen remains in the hands of those casting the ballots.