What does Kane need to do to win the Ballon d'Or before retiring?

Former outstanding striker Michael Owen, who won the Ballon d'Or in 2001, recently shared what Harry Kane must do to claim this award before ending his career.

In the history of English football, Michael Owen is the most recent Englishman to have won the Ballon d'Or. Now, Harry Kane stands on the brink of a historic chance to replicate that achievement. This season, he has reached 30 club goals and increased his England tally to 78 goals in 112 appearances. In reality, a player scoring many goals rarely wins individual awards without club-level titles.

Kane himself has stated:"I could score 100 goals this season, but if I don’t win the Champions League or the World Cup, my chances of winning the Ballon d'Or are almost zero."

The year 2026 is not just an ordinary season but a World Cup year, a tournament that carries the greatest weight in the eyes of voting journalists. According to former star Michael Owen, this is the "perfect" scenario for Kane’s pursuit of the Ballon d'Or, as he currently leads the Bundesliga scoring charts, is the heart of Bayern Munich’s play, and has the opportunity to conquer major club and international competitions.

Owen’s viewpoint is as follows:"To win the Ballon d'Or, you need an outstanding season and to be part of an excellent team, or at least a team that wins one or all of the most prestigious trophies. All these factors help and give you a significant advantage.

Bayern Munich will win the league (Bundesliga) because they are currently far ahead of other teams. If they win the Champions League and Harry Kane has a strong World Cup, then he will definitely have a chance to win the award."

Clearly, Owen’s analysis is very accurate. If Kane can help England win the 2026 World Cup after many years of waiting or lead the ‘Bavarian Giants’ to a Champions League title, he will directly surpass strong contenders like Lamine Yamal, Lionel Messi, Ousmane Dembele, Kylian Mbappé, and Erling Haaland to claim the most prestigious individual honor of his career.