Harry Kane reveals Ballon d'Or ambition & secret behind his record-breaking form for Bayern Munich as England captain eyes 'perfect season'

Kane finished outside of the top 10 in the 2024 Ballon d’Or vote, with the England captain slipping to 13th on that list despite breaking his trophy duck when landing the Bundesliga and plundering 41 goals for Bayern across all competitions. He is not fazed by that snub and has set about ensuring that he climbs those standings in 2026.

The 32-year-old frontman has become the first player in Bundesliga history to net 11 goals through the opening six matches of a league season. He has 18 efforts for Bayern in total, through 10 appearances, while also netting for England to take his record-shattering tally of efforts for the Three Lions to 74.

Kane has also become a centurion for Bayern, reaching 103 goals in just 106 games, and remains ahead of Manchester City striker Erling Haaland on the 2025-26 goal charts - with the Norwegian forward another of those to have been in scintillating form this season.

Kane said of competing with the likes of Haaland for Golden Shoe recognition and potentially top billing in the Ballon d’Or: “I've seen that he's been scoring although [Kylian] Mbappe has also had a great start to this season. I think those kinds of comparisons come from the outside, more obviously from social media now. From me, not so much. I know there's some amazing strikers in Europe and I try to focus on myself.

“Obviously, I would love to win the Ballon d’Or. Essentially it is a team trophy that the best individual from that team wins so no matter how you do in a season unless you win the biggest competitions it is going to be a Champions League winner or a World Cup winner this time around.

“Especially when you are this early in the season it is impossible to talk about it. I would love to win it for sure, it would be an accumulation of doing something great individually and as a team. It would be almost the perfect season. The opportunity is there when you are playing at a club like Bayern - who are always one of the favourites to win the Champions League. With England we are going to be one of the favourites to win the World Cup.”

Kane has learned down the years how to bring the best out of himself. He knows that sacrifices off the field will ultimately lead to better performances on it, with it important not to indulge when enjoying family time with wife Kate and their four children.

Explaining the secrets of his success, Kane said: “You have to drain as much as you can from your career. In terms of nutrition, recovery and working in the gym, I've stepped it up more this year. And obviously getting the rewards for that as well in the numbers that I'm producing.

“I do eat clean anyway. It's just whether I have the ‘cheat’ meals after games. Also not having as much ice cream when you’re out with the family. Just things like that. Small details, but I think at the highest level, a one per cent change, or even half a per cent, is going to make a big difference.

“As we know, the most important months are the latter stages of the season, the February to May and then obviously the World Cup. I want to make sure I'm in the best condition going into those moments."

England will be back in action on Thursday when taking in a friendly date with Wales at Wembley Stadium. They will then travel to Latvia for a 2026 World Cup qualifier, with Thomas Tuchel’s side - who sit top of their group with a perfect record through five fixtures - well on course to book their tickets for next summer’s finals in the United States, Canada and Mexico.