Harry Kane has become the first Englishman in a quarter of a century to win football’s most prestigious individual award.
He beat Kylian Mbappé and Lamine Yamal to the prize on Monday, which was voted on by over 100 journalists organised by France Football at a London gala.
The prize was in recognition for a historic season, which included starring in the Bundesliga for Bayern Munich and the Champions League and leading England to the World Cup semifinals.
The 33-year-old’s 73 goals helped him become the fifth England player to receive this recognition, which was last won by Michael Owen in 2001.
“Being in London, it is extra special, it felt like a good omen,” an emotional Kane said on stage. “Thank you to everyone who voted for me, I can imagine it was tough, so thank you.”
While Kane won the award, Mbappé became the World Cup’s top scorer of all time this summer, with 22 goals of which 10 were at this year’s edition and Yamal won for the Cup for Spain.
The show briefly descended into chaos when all three players were bizarrely announced as winners just hours before Kane was presented with the prize.
There was more chaos when the awards were delayed by 30 minutes, starting at 8.30pm instead of 8pm as billed.
In addition to FIFA’s The Best Award, the Ballon d’Or is widely regarded as the most prestigious award for individual players.
For the past 20 years the award has been dominated by Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
Kane thanks Tottenham, Bayern and England for his win: “To my wife Kate, my best friend. We’ve been through ups and downs. You are my biggest support and I felt like you wanted this more than me.
“The anxious wait … Here it is, we’ve done it and you always want the best for me. You sacrifice yourself to make me achieve my dreams. This wouldn’t be possible without you and it is something we can celebrate, not me. We’re a team. I can’t wait to celebrate tonight. I love you.”
He added: “It’s just the journey. For any young boy or girl who wants to achieve their dream, anything is possible.
“I hope my journey, it wasn’t straightforward, I didn’t go straight to the top, I had to experience a lot of loan moves and fight my way to get to where I am now. I hope that can give you inspiration and thank you very much.”
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