Hours after Harry Kane became the first Englishman in a generation to lift the Ballon d’Or, Jamie Carragher was already lining up the barb everyone knew was coming.

“There’s no way Harry Kane could’ve won the Ballon d’Or if he was playing for Tottenham,” the former Liverpool defender told Sky Sports.

He had set the mood earlier the same day, posting on X with his trademark needle.

“Good luck to @HKane tonight @ballondor. At one stage I was rated higher than Cristiano Ronaldo by the voters in this prestigious award,” Carragher wrote.

Read also: Ballon d’Or organizer turns on PSG: ‘They should have gone for Dembélé’

280 goals in a Spurs shirt and nothing to show for it

Kane left Tottenham in 2023 for Bayern Munich in a deal worth around £100m, having scored 280 goals in 435 appearances for the club without ever lifting a senior trophy.

In Germany he has scored 156 goals in 159 games and finished 2025-26 with 73 goals for club and country, the body of work the voters rewarded on Monday night.

Kane, 33, did not duck the Tottenham chapter in his acceptance speech. He said he would not be where he is today without his years in north London, a line delivered on the London Palladium stage where the ceremony was held outside France for the first time, chosen to mark 70 years since Stanley Matthews won the inaugural award.

England’s 25-year wait is over

Michael Owen’s 2001 win had been the last English name on the trophy before Monday night.

Read also: “He deserved it”: Laporta delivers defiant verdict after Harry Kane beats Lamine Yamal

Kylian Mbappé finished second in the vote, Lamine Yamal third, and Alexia Putellas was named women’s winner for the third time.

Prince William attended the ceremony and called Kane’s win deserved.

Read also: Kane names the two trophies he still wants after Ballon d’Or win