Harry Kane Admits Ballon d’Or Wait Is ‘Very Stressful’ for His Family

• Harry Kane says the wait to learn whether he has won the Ballon d’Or is “very stressful for everyone” around him, including his wife and family.
• The result stays secret until the ceremony at the London Palladium on Monday night, and Kane is the odds-on favourite.
• Lamine Yamal is second favourite in the betting, with Kylian Mbappé next, according to the Guardian.

A Family Waiting for the Envelope

Harry Kane would like to know now. The Bayern Munich and England striker says the uncertainty and the constant questions are hardest on the people closest to him, and he would happily skip the suspense if the decision were his.

“I think my wife would prefer to know and my family … it’s very stressful for everyone,” Kane said after Bayern’s 2-2 Champions League draw with Arsenal. “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.”

The 33-year-old accepts that the delay is part of the show, but he has a preference. “From my point of view, 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.”

He admitted that avoiding the subject is harder than it sounds. “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.”

The Case He Brings to London

Kane arrives at the ceremony as the favourite after a prolific year. He scored 61 goals for Bayern last season and 12 for England, and this season he has 10 for Bayern and six for England, according to the Guardian. He scored from the penalty spot against Arsenal, though the Guardian picks out an inch-perfect through ball that set up Alphonso Davies for the equaliser as his standout moment.

BBC Sport reports that the penalty made Kane only the second player in Champions League history to score in 10 consecutive matches, after Cristiano Ronaldo, who reached 11 for Real Madrid between June 2017 and April 2018. It also took his tally for Bayern to 156 goals in 158 appearances after he joined from Tottenham in 2023.

ESPN reports that Kane became the fastest player in history to reach 100 Bundesliga goals last month, doing it in his 98th appearance, and that sources say he is close to signing a new deal at Bayern.

Who Votes and Who Is Chasing

Kane was named on the 30-man shortlist in September. BBC Sport says the winner is chosen by a jury of 100 journalists, and that voting closed long ago. “It would be amazing to win,” Kane said afterwards. “The voting closed a long time ago so there’s nothing I can do, just wait and see what happens.”

Barcelona’s Yamal sits second in the betting, with Real Madrid’s Mbappé next, and BBC Sport lists current holder Ousmane Dembele among the favourites. ESPN also names Lionel Messi among the players Kane is up against.

An English winner would be the first to follow Michael Owen, who won in 2001. Kane says he is trying not to think about it, and for his family the next few days will pass slowly until Monday night in London.

WRITTEN BY

Jarrod

Jarrod Partridge is the Founder of Futbol Chronicle and an accredited journalist with over 30 years of experience following international football. A member of the AIPS International Sports Press Association, Jarrod has covered matches at stadiums around the world, bringing first-hand insight to every match report, player profile, and tactical analysis he writes.

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