Ballon d’Or 2026: Can Bayern’s Harry Kane end England’s 25 years of hurt?

When the 2026 Ballon d’Or ceremony gets under way at the London Palladium this Monday, much of England will hope it serves as a good omen.After all, the English haven’t seen one of their own lift the golden ball – football’s most prestigious individual award – in 25 years.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Ballon d’Or: Which countries and players have won the most awards?list 2 of 4Man United’s Carrick not worried about his job despite ‘unacceptable’ losslist 3 of 4Decision on Senegal’s AFCON final appeal to be made by end of Novemberlist 4 of 4Ronaldo banned for 30 days, fined $285 over spat with coach Jesusend of listMichael Owen was the embodiment of English pride when he won the accolade in 2001. Now, it is Harry Kane who could bring his nation an honour every footballer dreams of.So, what are Kane’s odds of winning the Ballon d’Or? Al Jazeera takes a look:The best season of Kane’s career bodes well for Ballon d’OrRemember the time when Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo scored 50-plus goals for fun? When a football forward’s goal tally looked more like a batsman’s cricket score?Kane’s 2025-26 goal-scoring exploit is the closest we have experienced to that in recent ...