Harry Kane: Why Real Madrid Champions League tie could make or break his Ballon d’Or hopes
No player in Europe has come close to Harry Kane’s goalscoring record this season – but could an untimely ankle problem undermine his Ballon d’Or chances?
The England international has scored 53 goals in 45 appearances for club and country this season but knows goals alone will not be enough to claim the prize, so he will be desperate to be ready for Bayern Munich’s tough Champions League match against Real Madrid on Tuesday (20:00 BST).
Kane, who missed Saturday’s dramatic 3-2 win over Freiburg through injury, ended his trophy drought by winning the Bundesliga last season, but further domestic honors in Germany will not guarantee him football’s most prestigious individual award.
Right or wrong, the Ballon d’Or is not just a matter of rewarding success alone. Increasingly, being part of a team that reaches one of the game’s biggest championships – the continental equivalent such as the Champions League, World Cup or European Championship – is also becoming a prerequisite.
Kane will get two bites this year and captain England at the World Cup in the summer, but his first and arguably best chance comes from Bayern.
The Bavarians have been in scintillating form this season, winning 37 of 43 games, but their talisman will need to be ready and fired as their European credentials are tested in the quarter-final first leg at the Bernabeu.
“I can score 100 goals this season, but if I don’t win the Champions League or the World Cup, you probably won’t win the Ballon d’Or,” Kane said in November. “It’s the same for every player. You’ve got to be winning those big trophies.”
History shows he was right. Since 2006, almost 80% of Ballon d’Or winners received the award in a year in which they also won the Champions League or a major international tournament such as the World Cup, European Championship or Copa America.
Only two players in the last two decades have defied this trend, and both are all-time greats and standouts. Lionel Messi won the award in 2010, 2012 and 2019, despite Barcelona’s elimination in the Champions League semi-finals, while Cristiano Ronaldo received the award in 2013, when Real Madrid was eliminated at the same stage.
