Bayern Munich forward Harry Kane has stated that he would rather win the UEFA Champions League with the German side than have the Ballon d’Or award he recently received.
The England captain shared this on Monday at a press conference held before Bayern’s Champions League match against Atletico Madrid on Tuesday.
Spanish newspaper Marca reported on Monday that Kane, when asked if he would swap the individual honor for the Champions League trophy, replied, “Yes, I would choose the Champions League.”
Kane, who was announced as the 2026 Ballon d’Or winner last week, said lifting the European club trophy would feel special to him because it would let him celebrate the achievement alongside his teammates.
“Last week’s Ballon d’Or was one of the best feelings I’ve had in my life, in my career. It was a really special award and a special night for me.
“But having moments with the team, having celebrations with the team, with the club, being able to lift the Champions League with Bayern would be simply an incredible feeling,” he said.
He did, though, voice his hope of claiming both honors, noting that he was well placed to fulfill those two ambitions with Bayern.
These remarks from Kane come after many years of chasing major team honours, during which he spent the bulk of his career at Tottenham Hotspur without lifting a major club trophy.
The forward signed for Bayern in August 2023 following 19 years at Tottenham, where he became the club’s all-time top scorer with 280 goals in 435 appearances.
In 2019 he guided Tottenham to the Champions League final, only to lose 2-0 to Liverpool and see his first chance of winning the competition slip away.
Since then he has claimed domestic silverware with Bayern, among it the Bundesliga and the German Cup, yet the Champions League is still absent from his trophy cabinet.
His 2026 Ballon d’Or win came on the back of a remarkable 2025/26 season in which he netted 73 goals for Bayern and England, helping the German side secure the Bundesliga, German Cup, and German Super Cup.
He is the first Englishman to take the award since Michael Owen in 2001, having finished ahead of Real Madrid forward Kylian Mbappe and Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal.
Bayern’s trip to Atletico Madrid gives Kane another chance to chase his Champions League goal, with the final set for the Metropolitano Stadium in Madrid on June 5, 2027.
