Former England defender Jamie Carragher has backed Harry Kane to win the 2026 Ballon d'Or, citing the Bayern Munich forward's outstanding form over the past year.
Writing for The Telegraph, Carragher argued that Kane's statistics place him among the elite goalscorers in world football.
"If the vote for the Ballon d'Or was being held right now, Kane would be the worthy winner," Carragher said, noting that Kane has scored 72 goals this season, including his heroics for England against DR Congo.
Carragher pointed out that only Lionel Messi has recently reached such numbers, and even Cristiano Ronaldo was not as prolific in a single campaign.
However, Carragher acknowledged that international tournament success often overrides club achievements during a World Cup cycle.
"Unfortunately, he probably won't because in a World Cup year it is bound to go to the star player of the winning nation," he said, adding that if Argentina retain the cup, Messi will win, and if France wins, Kylian Mbappe or Michael Olise could be contenders.
Carragher also noted that Kane's legacy as England's greatest striker depends on international trophies.
"Kane's candidacy to be England's best of all time will be generally dismissed unless he has the same success wearing the Three Lions," he added.
Despite this, Carragher believes Kane has already surpassed previous generations of English forwards, including Alan Shearer, Gary Lineker, and Wayne Rooney.
Former Manchester United defender Gary Pallister echoed the sentiment, highlighting Kane's extraordinary numbers across domestic and European tournaments.
"I think Harry Kane's got a great chance of winning the Ballon d'Or.
If you can't win the Ballon d'Or with 67 goals, then I don't know what you need to do," Pallister said.
Pallister noted that Kane has rewritten his narrative after doubts following previous international campaigns.
"He's back scoring goals for England, he's smashing them in at club level in the Champions League and Bundesliga, probably in the form of his life," Pallister explained.
According to data from GiveMeSport, Kane scored 51 goals and provided 7 assists in 67 appearances for Bayern Munich across all competitions in the 2025-26 season.
England faces Mexico in the World Cup Round of 16 on Monday, July 6, 2026, at the Estadio Azteca, where Kane will aim to guide his team into the quarter-finals.
