- Harry Kane Earns Rice’s Ballon d’Or Backing After 73-Goal Season
Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice has thrown his support behind England captain Harry Kane to win the 2026 Ballon d’Or, despite being named among the 30 nominees himself for a second successive year.
Rice made the comments after Arsenal’s 1-0 UEFA Champions League win away to Napoli on September 10, saying he would be delighted to see his international teammate claim football’s most prestigious individual award.
UEFA confirmed this week that both players are among the nominees for the men’s prize, with the ceremony scheduled for October 26 at the London Palladium.
“Yeah for sure [I’m proud to be nominated for the Ballon d’Or for a second year in a row]. I think second year in a row nominated is obviously really proud,” Rice said after the Napoli victory.
But when asked about the award itself, the Arsenal midfielder made his preference clear: “You know who I want to win it, I would love to see Harry Kane win it. I’m wishing him all the best in that.”
Kane enters the Ballon d’Or discussion after an extraordinary 2025/26 campaign for Bayern Munich and England.
Bundesliga figures show that he scored 61 goals in 51 competitive appearances for Bayern, including 36 in the Bundesliga, 10 in the DFB Cup and 14 in the Champions League, while providing seven assists.
Including his performances for England, Kane finished the season with 73 goals and eight assists in 65 competitive appearances, making it one of the most prolific campaigns by a player in the modern era.
That distinction is important because the original report described Kane as registering 73 goals in 64 appearances “across all competitions last season”.
Bayern and Bundesliga records instead put his combined club-and-country total at 65 appearances, while his Bayern-only record was 61 goals in 51 games. The 73-goal figure therefore reflects his entire season for club and country rather than only his Bayern output.
Kane also collected major silverware during the campaign, helping Bayern win the Bundesliga, DFB Cup and Franz Beckenbauer Supercup.
His 36 league goals earned him the European Golden Shoe for the second time, while Bayern said his season represented the second-highest single-season goals total by a player in the 21st century, behind only Lionel Messi’s 82 for Barcelona and Argentina in 2011/12.
Those numbers strengthen the case for Kane in a Ballon d’Or field crowded with players from Europe’s leading clubs.
Rice’s own nomination reflects a highly successful year with Arsenal and England. He is one of three Arsenal players on UEFA’s 30-man shortlist alongside Gabriel and William Saliba, while Kane is joined by Bayern teammates Luis Díaz and Michael Olise.
The nomination means Rice remains among the players formally recognised for the award even as he publicly backs Kane.
The England connection also adds weight to Rice’s endorsement. Kane and Rice were part of the side that finished third at the 2026 FIFA World Cup after a dramatic 6-4 victory over France in the bronze-medal match in Miami.
FIFA confirmed England’s third-place finish as their best World Cup result since winning the tournament in 1966.
Rice himself scored in that bronze-medal match, opening the scoring as England overcame France in a 10-goal contest. Kane’s overall season with England added another dimension to his club achievements, with his international goals helping take his combined campaign total to 73.
That combination of domestic silverware, individual scoring records and World Cup success gives Rice a strong basis for arguing that his captain merits the award.
The competition, however, is formidable. The 30-player shortlist also includes Kylian Mbappé, Erling Haaland, Jude Bellingham, Lamine Yamal, Ousmane Dembélé, Lionel Messi, Vinícius Júnior, Vitinha and Achraf Hakimi, among others.
UEFA’s list therefore places Kane in a field packed with players whose cases rest on different combinations of trophies, individual numbers and performances in major international tournaments.
The 2026 edition will also be historically significant for the award itself. It marks the 70th anniversary of the Ballon d’Or, first awarded by France Football in 1956, and will be staged in London for the first time. UEFA said the choice of the London Palladium pays tribute to Stanley Matthews, the Englishman who won the inaugural award.
For Kane, winning the trophy would crown a season that combined extraordinary scoring output with major team success.
His goals were not limited to one competition, with elite-level returns across Germany, Europe and international football strengthening his claim to be viewed as more than simply a prolific league striker.
Rice’s public backing is therefore likely to resonate because it comes from both a fellow nominee and a player who has seen Kane’s influence closely with England.
Rice, however, is also enjoying recognition at the highest individual level for the second year running. His decision to publicly champion Kane rather than his own candidacy reflects the respect the Bayern forward commands within the England squad after another prolific season.
With voting and debate intensifying ahead of the October ceremony, Kane now has one of his most prominent international teammates firmly in his corner.
