“The Ballon d’Or should go to the best player” – Yamal takes apparent aim at Kane with 80-goal remark

Harry Kane is firmly in the conversation for the Ballon d’Or after winning the German double with Bayern Munich and scoring a total of 73 goals for club and country during the 2025/26 season.

One of Kane’s competitors for the award, FC Barcelona star Lamine Yamal, has now seemingly taken aim at the England forward by saying the Ballon d’Or should be awarded to the best player rather than the top scorer.

“I think the Ballon d'Or should go to the best player in the world, period. Not to a player who's scored 80 goals, because when you score 80 goals, you get the 'top scorer' award for that. These are very different things that people aren't understanding,” Yamal told Movistar Plus Deportes (via reputable FC Bayern-focused X page iMiaSanMia)

“The best player in the world is the one that, as a commentator, you’re watching a game and enjoying - you see him and think, ‘He’s a player who is very different from everyone else.’. - When the award goes to the best, not the one who scores the most goals or the one who has won the most titles, then it will regain its true value.”

In addition to Kane and Yamal, Kylian Mbappé, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Michael Olise and Lionel Messi are among the players who have been mentioned as candidates for the award, with the winner set to be announced in October.