The crowning of England's Harry Kane, the German Bayern Munich striker, with the 2026 Ballon d'Or sparked a wide wave of praise in the international press, which celebrated his exceptional career, humility and professionalism. However, the almost complete consensus that he deserved the award did not extend to Spain, where journalistic voices emerged that questioned his preference over Lamine Yamal and Kylian Mbappe, and considered that the selection criteria did not do justice to those with exceptional individual skills.
According to a report published by the French newspaper L'Equipe on Tuesday, the British and German press received Kane's coronation in London as a victory for the player who built his success away from showmanship and controversy, while some Spanish newspapers took a more severe stance, especially in light of Yamal and Mbappe losing the race, despite the small difference that separated the latter from the winner.
In Britain, Barney Ronay, a writer for The Guardian newspaper, focused on the end of an English wait that had lasted 25 years since Michael Owen won the Ballon d'Or in 2001, considering that Kane deserved the award after an exceptional season in which he combined the European Golden Shoe with the decisive contribution to Bayern Munich's victory in the German League, and leading the England team to the World Cup semi-finals.
Ronai's praise was not limited to numbers and championships, but rather extended to the player's personality, whom he described as a great star who maintained his humility despite his arrival to the top of world football. He also saw that Kane had become one of the most popular players in the German League, and that the 100 million euros that Bayern Munich paid to sign him three years ago, when he was thirty years old, had become a fully justified investment.
The Sun newspaper chose to celebrate the coronation with a headline in which it manipulated the player’s name, meaning “Yes, Kane Can,” while Oliver Holt, a writer for the Daily Mail, presented a reading more closely related to the personality of the winner, saying that the award went to an exceptional star who is characterized by humility and distance from conflicts.
Holt wrote that this moment demonstrated football's ability to honor players who did not seek fame or controversy, who did not exploit their public status for show, but rather dedicated their careers to quietly achieving excellence.
The British writer went on to compare Kane to some of the game's most prominent stars, criticizing the celebrations that accompanied the eighteenth birthday of Lamin Yamal, including the use of artists of short stature. He also pointed out what he described as the excessive narcissism of Cristiano Ronaldo.
He believed that Kane's victory represents a victory for a player who used to behave correctly throughout his career, and embodied exemplary professionalism away from exaggeration in self-display.
In Germany, the reactions carried a similar amount of pride, not only because the Bayern Munich striker was crowned, but also because the award restored consideration to the German League in the competition for major individual awards.
Henning Weindt wrote in the newspaper "Bild" that there is a feeling of pride within the Bundesliga towards this professional player, given that his coronation sent a message to world stars that winning the Golden Ball is also possible while playing in the German League.
He pointed to the transformation that has occurred in Ken since his arrival at Oberfaffenhofen Airport three years ago. At the time, he was a world-class striker, but he developed under the leadership of Belgian coach Vincent Kompany to become a playmaker capable of seizing the ball and leading the team on the field.
As for Tobias Goldbrunner, a writer in Kicker magazine, he summed up the English star’s status by saying that it is unlikely that another player with his specifications will appear in the near future.
In contrast, the Spanish press was more divided. Some comments went beyond simply objecting to the result of the vote to questioning the criteria that gave Kane the advantage over his competitors.
Santi Nola, director of the Catalan newspaper Mundo Deportivo, wrote that choosing Kane as the best player in the world during the season does not reflect reality, based on his not participating in the World Cup final or the Champions League final, in addition to the fact that the German League ranks, according to his estimation, third or fourth among the five major European leagues.
Although he admitted that Kane is a great player, an excellent scorer and a respectable personality, and that his influence goes beyond scoring goals, he believed that the real superiority in the creative aspect belongs to Lamine Yamal.
Nola explained that football magic lies in Yamal, and that the ability to provide unexpected play, showmanship skills and artistic originality are not always reflected in the number of goals scored, in a clear defense of the Barcelona player who did not succeed in grabbing the award.
In the Madrid newspaper "Marca", Juan Ignacio Gallardo considered that the interview the newspaper conducted with Kane during September, coinciding with the voting period for the jury members, contributed to tipping the balance in his favor in the race.
As for his colleague Ferran Martinez, he focused on Mbappe’s failure again to win the award, while Roberto Gomez, during the “La Tribu” program on Radio Marca, presented sharp criticism of the French star and Lamine Yamal.
Gomez considered that the two players had only begged for the award, warning that their loss might constitute a negative turning point in their careers, similar to what happened, in his opinion, with the Brazilian Vinicius Junior, and he expected the repercussions to be described as catastrophic.
In another reading, Nacho Labarga saw that there is something like a curse that haunts Spanish players in the Ballon d'Or race, recalling what happened in 2010, when Andres Iniesta and Xavi Hernandez did not succeed in winning the award despite Spain winning the World Cup, after it went to the Argentine Lionel Messi.
However, the Spanish position was not unified; Juanma Leyva, editor-in-chief of the Madrid newspaper AS, praised Beijing, describing him as a player who was constantly underestimated, acknowledging that he deserved appreciation after years of brilliance.
In Italy, the newspaper “La Gazzetta dello Sport” chose to describe Kane as an “ordinary star,” referring to the contradiction between his exceptional athletic status and his calm personality, which is far from the trappings of traditional stardom.
As for the Argentine newspaper, La Nacion, it repeated the numerical comparison with Lionel Messi, noting that the Argentine star scored 82 goals during the 2010-2011 season, compared to the 73 goals scored by Kane in the last season.
The Portuguese newspaper “Apola” used the same comparison from a different angle, usually saying that Kane’s proximity to the numbers achieved by the game’s greatest stars reinforces his deservingness of the award, and places his season among the most prominent individual seasons in modern football.
While the international press was busy coronating Kane, Spain's Alexia Potias received great attention, especially in the Spanish media, after she won the Women's Ballon d'Or for the third time in her career, leveling with her compatriot Aitana Bonmatti.
Ferran Martinez, head of one of the departments at Mundo Deportivo, wrote that the former Barcelona captain, who moved to London City Lionesses, continued writing history by equaling Bonmatti's tally, considering that this achievement once again confirms the strength of Barcelona's presence on the international scene of women's football, and the continuity of the club's successful project.
Santi described Nola Botias as a player who continues to impose her dominance, after becoming the winner of three Golden Balls, stressing that her exceptional career reflects her position among the greatest players in history.
Marca, in turn, celebrated the Spanish star, usually strengthening her legendary status after a perfect season, and devoted the front page of its page to her coronation, while highlighting the rest of the Spanish winners during the ceremony under the title “The Golden Age.”
Thus, Kane's coronation revealed a clear discrepancy in the European press's view of the concept of the best player in the world. While British and German newspapers celebrated the striker who combined numbers, professionalism and humility, Spanish voices defended the artistic value of talent and innovation, in a controversy that reflects the continuing disagreement over the criteria that should decide the Ballon d’Or race.
