Christoph Kramer made the claim while working as a pundit for Prime Video during Bayern Munich's Champions League match at Viking Stavanger. Kane is regarded as one of the leading contenders for the award for the world's best footballer, but faces strong competition from Lamine Yamal (Barcelona) and Kylian Mbappe (Real Madrid).
For the Ballon d'Or, 100 journalists from the top 100 countries in the FIFA world rankings vote to decide who receives the Golden Ball. Could that count against Kane? "I think if all the coaches in the world voted, it would be Harry Kane," Kramer said. On Tuesday, the Englishman scored twice to help Bayern Munich take a point from a 3-3 draw in Norway.
Kramer stressed that his comments were not a slight against the media. "Journalists obviously understand football too. As a coach, Harry Kane is the player you would most like to have in your team. In my view, he is more valuable to Bayern than any other player is to their team," the former midfielder explained.
Who does Christoph Kramer think will win the Ballon d'Or?
Despite his praise, Kramer does not believe the media representatives will ultimately vote for Kane. The winner will receive the award at a gala ceremony in Paris on 26 October. "Because it also has to do with magic and appearance, I'll say Lamine Yamal," he said, naming the player he thinks will win.
Ballon d'Or voting regularly causes controversy: Franck Ribery finished only third behind Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi in 2013, despite winning the treble with Bayern Munich. In 2024, all Real Madrid representatives boycotted the event after learning unofficially that Vinicius Junior had been voted into second place behind Manchester City's Rodri.