Harry Kane Beats Yamal and Mbappe to Win Prestigious Award 3 Days Ahead of 2026 Ballon d’Or Ceremony

Harry Kane Beats Yamal and Mbappe to Win Prestigious Award 3 Days Ahead of 2026 Ballon d’Or Ceremony

  • Harry Kane claimed the Marca 100 award for the 2025/26 season, edging out Lamine Yamal by just 25 points in a global jury vote
  • The Bayern Munich striker recorded 73 goals in 65 matches across the season, placing him second only to Lionel Messi in a single-season record
  • Kane is also among the frontrunners for the 2026 Ballon d'Or, set to take place on Monday, October 26 in London

Harry Kane has won the Marca 100 award for the 2025/26 season, beating Barcelona's Lamine Yamal by only 25 points to claim one of football's most closely contested individual honours just three days before the 2026 Ballon d'Or ceremony.

The Bayern Munich captain finished with 3,962 points in the annual vote run by Spanish sports newspaper Marca, ahead of Yamal on 3,937 and Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe on 3,440.

Harry Kane, Marca 100, Lamine Yamal, Kylian Mbappe, Ballon d'Or
Harry Kane beat Lamine Yamal, who finished second, by a mere 25 points to be crowned the winner of this 25/26 edition of the MARCA 100 Award. Photo by Alex Grimm
Source: Getty Images

Rodri, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Lionel Messi, Fabian Ruiz, Michael Olise, Ousmane Dembele, and Pau Cubarsi completed the top 10.

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According to MARCA, the result was determined by a 226-member jury drawn from Spanish and international journalists, former professional footballers, and coaches.

Each voter selected their top 15 from the 100 nominees, with 30 points awarded for a first-place vote, 25 for second, and 23 for third.

Kane joins an exclusive list of winners

The award, formally known as the 'MARCA by Orange 100,' has been running since the 2021/22 season.

Previous winners include Karim Benzema (2021/22), Erling Haaland (2022/23), Vinicius Junior (2023/24), and Yamal himself, who won the 2024/25 edition before finishing as runner-up this time around.

Kane's dominant season gave jury members little reason to look elsewhere.

At club level, the England forward helped Bayern Munich win the German treble, lifting the Super Cup, the DFB-Pokal, and the Bundesliga title, GOAL reports.

Internationally, he led England to third place at the 2026 World Cup, scoring six goals in seven matches.

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His individual numbers were equally remarkable.

Kane scored 61 goals and added seven assists for Bayern across all competitions in the 2025/26 season, a tally that only Cristiano Ronaldo has matched, when the Portuguese scored as many for Real Madrid in 2014/15.

Across both club and country, Kane registered 73 goals in 65 matches between August 2025 and July 2026. Only Lionel Messi's 82 goals in 69 matches during the 2011/12 campaign stands above that figure in the historical record.

Kane's Champions League and World Cup records

In Europe, Kane finished as the second-highest scorer in the Champions League with 13 goals, behind only Mbappe on 15.

Notably, he found the net in every knockout round of both the Champions League and the German Cup.

The 33-year-old forward also claimed the European Golden Boot and the Bundesliga top scorer award for the third year running, having netted 36 league goals.

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He was named in the UEFA Champions League Team of the Year and has now scored 14 World Cup goals in total, placing him fifth among the all-time leading scorers in the competition's history.

Kane's recognition at the Marca 100 ceremony adds further weight to his candidacy for the 2026 Ballon d'Or, which takes place on Monday, October 26 in London.

Neymar names world's best player

In another development, Legit.ng reported about Neymar’s choice for the 2026 Ballon d’Or, as he backed Barcelona’s Yamal ahead of Kane and Mbappe.

Yamal is in the running after a standout season, but his modest World Cup return could affect his chances. Kane, meanwhile, scored 61 goals for Bayern Munich and six at the tournament.

Source: Legit.ng

Authors:
Chukwu Ikechukwu avatar

Chukwu Ikechukwu (Sports Editor) Chukwu Ikechukwu Godwin is a seasoned sports journalist with over a decade of experience across radio, TV, and online media. His career has seen him contribute his expertise to prominent media outlets such as Today FM, Wish FM, Silverbird Communications, and Sports Brief. Chukwu has covered prominent sporting events, including the African Wrestling Championship, NPFL matches, AFCON, and World Cup qualifiers, etc. Email: Chukwu.ikechukwu@corp.legit.ng