Harry Kane became just the second former Tottenham Hotspur player to win the Ballon d’Or when he was crowned the best player in the world on Monday night.
The Bayern Munich centre-forward beat off competition from Kylian Mbappe and Lamine Yamal to win the award for the first time in his career, three years after leaving North London.
He became the second player to win the award having previously played for Spurs after Luka Modric won the Ballon d’Or whilst playing for Real Madrid in 2018.
The England captain was a deserved winner of the trophy after his sensational form for Bayern Munich and England throughout the past 12 months.
How Kane won the Ballon d’Or
In the World Cup earlier this year, Kane led his country to the semi-finals of the tournament with a return of six goals and one assist in seven matches, outperforming his xG of 3.55.
It was his form for Bayern Munich in Germany that really sealed the deal for him, though, as he scored a staggering 61 goals and created 27 ‘big chances’ for his teammates in 51 appearances in all competitions last season, ending the campaign as Europe’s top scorer.
That included an eye-catching haul of 36 goals from 28.87 xG and 18 ‘big chances’ created in 25 starts in the Bundesliga for Vincent Kompany’s side.
His unbelievable offensive statistics for both Bayern and England earned him enough votes to come away with the Ballon d’Or on Monday, and it was an incredibly deserved moment for the legendary striker.
How Spurs brewed a Ballon d’Or winner
Kane thanked Spurs as part of his acceptance speech because of the role that they played in his development at both youth and senior level, and the appreciation was much deserved for the Lilywhites.
The English striker came up through the youth ranks at Spurs and was given the opportunity to hone his skills out on loan with the likes of Norwich, Leicester, Millwall, and Leyton Orient.
After those loan spells, Tottenham then put their trust in him as a first-team player and gave him the chance to establish himself as their starting centre-forward for nine consecutive seasons in the Premier League.
Kane’s full Premier League seasons with Spurs | ||
|---|---|---|
Season | Games | Goals |
22/23 | 38 | 30 |
21/22 | 37 | 17 |
20/21 | 35 | 23 |
19/20 | 29 | 18 |
18/19 | 28 | 17 |
17/18 | 37 | 30 |
16/17 | 30 | 29 |
15/16 | 38 | 25 |
14/14 | 34 | 21 |
Kane ended his career at Spurs as their all-time top scorer, with 280 goals in 435 games, and that experience set him up to go and be a superstar with Bayern, which has then led to him winning the Ballon d’Or.
Spurs are now brewing their next Ballon d’Or contender
Whilst Tottenham and their supporters are celebrating Kane’s award this week, the club may already be brewing another Ballon d’Or contender in their academy.
Luca Williams-Barnett’s form for Spurs and England at youth level in recent seasons suggests that he has the potential to emerge as a superstar in the future.
He could follow in Kane’s footsteps and translate his academy form over to the first-team to deliver goals and assists at an exceptional rate in the years to come.
The 18-year-old talent has scored eight goals in 20 caps for England at U17, U18, and U19 level combined, and he scored two goals and three ‘big chances’ created in four starts at the U17 World Cup in 2025.
His form for Spurs at academy level, though, is what really highlights his potential as a future Ballon d’Or contender, as he has racked up some serious numbers.
The teenage attacker has scored one goal and provided one assist in one appearance for the U21s this season, whilst he has been an unused substitute three times in the Premier League for the first-team.
Spurs academy | Luca Williams-Barnett |
|---|---|
Appearances | 50 |
Goals | 39 |
Goals per game | 0.78 |
Assists | 22 |
Assists per game | 0.44 |
Goals contributions per game | 1.22 |
Williams-Barnett averages 1.22 goal contributions per game for Tottenham’s academy, with 61 combined goals and assists in 50 matches for the U18s, U19s, and U21s combined.
Kane won the Ballon d’Or this year with 1.32 goal contributions per game for Bayern in the 2025/26 campaign, which is not much better than what the Spurs youngster is currently producing.
That means that Tottenham may already be brewing their next contender for the Ballon d’Or and their next version of Kane if they can get Williams-Barnett to translate his form over to the first-team.
If the 18-year-old star can score and assist goals that rate at very top level, as Kane has after coming through the Spurs academy, then he could become one of the top players in the game and compete for the biggest award.
Source: www.footballfancast.com
