Seven days from the Ballon d’Or ceremony in London, Harry Kane is the clear favourite. One list, though, keeps him in his place: José Mourinho’s.
A ranking of every player Mourinho has coached across 25 years as a manager, compiled from Transfermarkt data by Khel Now, places Kane only ninth. The England striker scored 45 goals in 62 games during Mourinho’s spell at Tottenham between 2019 and 2021.
Cristiano Ronaldo is the player no one is catching. In three seasons under Mourinho at Real Madrid, he scored 168 goals in 164 appearances, a tally that sits 90 goals clear of the next man on the list.
Ronaldo clear of the field by 90 goals
The top five on Mourinho’s all-time scoring chart:
Read also: Pogacar’s UAE lose climbing lieutenant Sivakov to Decathlon through 2029
- Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid): 168 goals in 164 games
- Karim Benzema (Real Madrid): 78 goals in 150 games
- Didier Drogba (Chelsea): 73 goals in 186 games
- Frank Lampard (Chelsea): 71 goals in 215 games
- Zlatan Ibrahimović (Inter, Manchester United): 58 goals in 100 games
Below them come Gonzalo Higuaín (57 goals in 123 games at Real Madrid), Derlei (56 in 94 at Porto), Romelu Lukaku (47 in 101 across Chelsea, Manchester United and Roma), Kane in ninth, and Benni McCarthy in tenth after 38 goals at Porto.
The chart stretches from Mourinho’s breakthrough years at the Estádio do Dragão in the early 2000s through to his time at Roma.
The season that made Kane favourite
Kane sits where he does on that chart because his time with Mourinho was short, not because he has been a lesser player since.
In 2025/26 he scored 73 goals in 65 appearances for Bayern Munich and England, the second-best scoring season by any player in the 21st century behind Lionel Messi’s 82 in 69. His club tally was 61 goals in 51 games: 36 in the Bundesliga, 14 in the Champions League, 10 in the DFB-Pokal and one in the Supercup, with Bayern winning all three domestic competitions.
Read also: WWE legend The Great Khali reveals surprising new career that pays more than wrestling ever did
Kane added six goals at the 2026 World Cup, where England finished third, their best men’s result since lifting the trophy in 1966.
Those numbers have put him at the top of the betting markets. In an updated ranking published today by Legit.ng, Kane leads ahead of Lamine Yamal, Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappé and Rodri.
Mourinho back in Madrid
Mourinho returned to Real Madrid in June on a three-year contract, 13 years after the end of his first stint at the Bernabéu. He has not coached Kane since 2021.
The 2026 Ballon d’Or is the 70th edition of the award. The ceremony begins at 8pm local time on Monday, 26 October at the London Palladium.
Read also: ‘Why not?’: The coach who built Alcaraz is reportedly moving toward Sinner’s team for 2027
Read also: Shaquille O’Neal, 54, shows off muscular new look as he channels Arnold Schwarzenegger
