After a night of delays, confusion and a long, long wait, Harry Kane finally strode on to the stage at the London Palladium at 10.51pm to receive the Ballon d’Or. It has been 12 years since Kane burst into the national consciousness as an unassuming 21-year-old with an eye for goal. The extraordinary, self-willed career that followed may not have delivered the most coveted team trophies, but as Kane turned the golden orb in his fingers, he finally held football’s ultimate individual crown.

Kane is only the fifth Englishman to win the prize after Sir Stanley Matthews, Sir Bobby Charlton, Kevin Keegan and Michael Owen. It is 25 years since Owen’s award and 70 years since Matthews won the inaugural Ballon d’Or, the serendipitous anniversary that brought this ceremony from Paris to Kane’s hometown.

It had been a tense wait over recent weeks as 100 journalists around the world decided the best player of the 2025/26 season.…