25 years later and an Englishman has finally taken home the coveted Ballon D’or. How refreshing that, for the first time in my lifetime, an English footballer has been hands down the best player in the world. This article will be all about Harry Kane, along with the other contenders and why Kane deserved it.

The Best Season From An English Player… Ever?

In recent memory, I can’t think of an individual season by an English footballer in the top five leagues. Foden, Bellingham and Palmer have each had superb seasons. Kane himself has had seasons where his numbers have been a joke. But this year, Kane added something very important: trophies. While finishing third in the World Cup is nothing to ignore, the domestic campaign from England’s captain was nearly the sole reason for this award. 51 games, 61 goals, 7 assists. The numbers speak for themselves. Boosting Bayern Munich to a famous domestic treble.

The 33-year-old adding trophies to those numbers has led him to a campaign that sees him become the first Englishman since Michael Owen to win the prestigious award. Rightfully deserved too. While awards of this magnitude are impossible to measure, Kane has hit every quota you could think of. Numbers? Yep. Eye test? Despite not being as appealing on the eye as a Lamine Yamal, Kane is still a beautiful footballer. No one can finish quite like him (excluding the robot Haaland). Add in his footballing IQ and all-around ability to orchestrate games, and yes, he smashes the eye test. Impact on club and country? Yes. Despite being outshone by one of the best-ever World Cup campaigns from Jude Bellingham, he was pivotal in helping England reach their best finish since 1966. The numbers in the league speak for themselves: no Kane, no domestic treble.

How refreshing is it to see a player have a perfect campaign, make no effort to run a PR campaign for the award and still walk away with it? When Rodri won (despite loving it as a City fan), I also revelled in the fact that Vinícius Jr, who had spent months desperately trying to PR his way to the award while slandering rivals, ended up not showing up, in an embarrassing display from the whole of Real Madrid.

So, for Kane to win despite having no heavy PR campaign, over a player like Yamal, who admittedly had a great shout as the categorical best player in the world, is so refreshing. Let the work, let the numbers, talk for themselves.

Lamine Yamal and Kylian Mbappe – The Future

The two favourites after Kane will be disappointed. Mbappé has been chasing the award for years and has been operating at the same level as the winner every year for the last five years, at least. He will win a Ballon d’Or in his career. This year just wasn’t his year.

Lamine will feel the same, but he has time… so much time. At just 19, he’s the best player in the world alongside Kane, Mbappé and Haaland. Yamal won’t just win one. Expect two, three, four. But that’s the nature of the beast. To be at that level, you have to be so hungry, even at 19, to win such an award.

Both had exceptional seasons, and they will continue to do so. But this year, Kane took it home, and rightfully so.

But what about the other contender, Erling Haaland? 2023 should’ve been his year. Messi was immense at the World Cup, but Haaland did it all: a treble, City’s first Champions League and breaking every record under the sun. This year felt close too. A cup double, but more importantly, an absolutely insane World Cup campaign, where he carried Norway to a historic quarter-final finish.

Will Haaland ever win one? Or could external factors prevent that? With relegation looming for City and being from a nation that has never competed at the highest level, these factors may come back to bite the robot. Time will tell. But one thing’s for sure, he deserves at least one in an already illustrious career.

One thing is for certain: Harry Kane should, and will, very quickly become Sir Harry Kane. The best English footballer ever? Most likely. What a player.

Osservando is an official partner of Classic Football Shirts. You can explore their collection using the link here and receive 10% off your order with the code OSSERVANDO10.