Harry Kane admits wait to learn if he has won Ballon d’Or is ‘very stressful’ for family

Harry Kane would love to know now whether he has won the Ballon d’Or because the uncertainty and constant questions are driving his family to distraction. But the Bayern Munich and England striker accepts the suspense before the big reveal at the London Palladium on Monday night is part of the show.

Kane is the odds-on favourite to win the prestigious individual honour after a prolific run of form. The 33-year-old scored 61 goals for Bayern last season and 12 for England. This time out, he has 10 for Bayern and six for England. He scored from the penalty spot in Wednesday night’s 2-2 Champions League draw against Arsenal at the Allianz Arena, although his stand-out moment was the inch-perfect through ball that set up Alphonso Davies to make it 1-1.

Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal is the second-favourite for the Ballon d’Or and Kylian Mbappé of Real Madrid is next in the betting.

“I think my wife would prefer to know and my family … it’s very stressful for everyone,” Kane said, when asked whether he would prefer to be told in advance of the ceremony. “I can see why they don’t tell people. They want everyone to go, all the big names, and there will be more people watching it if they don’t know so I can understand why.

“From my point of view, of course I’d love to know to just kind of see and not have to wait throughout the whole night. But it is their decision, I can’t control that. We’ll have to just enjoy it and try not to stress out too much. I try not to think about it. Obviously it is hard not to. There are always rumours and stuff flying around so you try to stay away from it.”