The 2026 Ballon d’Or went to Harry Kane on Monday night in London, and tucked inside a long thank-you list was a name few in the hall would have expected him to reach for: Jose Mourinho.
Kane rattled through a run of coaches who had shaped his career, from his academy years at Tottenham to England and now Bayern Munich. Mourinho’s name sat between Mauricio Pochettino and Antonio Conte, with Roy Hodgson and Gareth Southgate following close behind.
“I want to give out a shout out to some of my coaches who have helped me along the way,” Kane said in his acceptance speech, before working through the list.
From the Spurs dugout to the Bernabéu
Mourinho took charge of Kane at Tottenham in November 2019 and stayed until April 2021, a short spell that produced one of the striker’s most complete seasons in English football. In 2020-21 Kane finished the Premier League campaign with both the Golden Boot and the Playmaker award, a combination that nodded to the way Mourinho had asked him to drop deeper and bring teammates into play.
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That shift still shows up in Kane’s game at Bayern. The season that carried him to the Ballon d’Or stage returned 73 goals for club and country and a Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal double in Munich.
A thank-you aimed at a rival dugout
The twist is where Mourinho sits today. The Portuguese took over at Real Madrid for the 2026-27 season and is now in the opposite dugout from Kane’s Bayern in European competition.
Kane did not dwell on that. His warmest line was reserved for Vincent Kompany, who was absent from the Palladium Theatre after collapsing during training the previous week.
“To Vinny, I know he’s at home, I think still in the hospital, so wishing you very well,” Kane said. “I hope this has gave you a bit of energy.”
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Kane also thanked Tottenham, the club he joined at 11, saying he would not be where he is today without them. He is the first English winner of the award since Michael Owen in 2001, and the fifth overall after Stanley Matthews, Bobby Charlton, Kevin Keegan and Owen.
Bayern return to Bundesliga action this weekend.
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