- Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane claimed the European Golden Shoe for the 2025/2026 season after scoring 36 league goals
- Kane joins an elite group of just three players ever to have won the award at least twice, alongside Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo
- Bayern Munich president Herbert Hainer and CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen both paid tribute to the England captain’s record-breaking campaign
Harry Kane has been crowned Europe’s top scorer for the 2025/2026 football season, winning the European Golden Shoe ahead of Kylian Mbappe and Lamine Yamal after finishing the Bundesliga campaign with 36 goals for Bayern Munich.
The award marks Kane’s second Golden Shoe, having also claimed the honour in 2024 with an identical tally of 36 league goals.
Source: Getty Images
With two wins to his name, the England captain joins Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo as the only players in history to have lifted the award on at least two occasions, Yahoo Sports reports.
Bayern Munich confirmed that Kane will officially receive the trophy at a ceremony held at the club’s museum on August 19.
Kane’s place among Bayern legends
Club president Herbert Hainer placed the 33-year-old in the same bracket as two of the most revered forwards in the club’s history.
“Harry Kane is one of the legends of attack like Gerd Müller and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, and he has continued this goalscoring legacy to this day, elevating the role of the striker to a new level. He is like a light that illuminates the path for his team both on and off the pitch, because he always leads with a strong character and a team spirit,” Hainer told Bayern Munich’s official website.
Bayern chief executive Jan-Christian Dreesen was equally effusive, singling out Kane’s selfless approach to the game as something that sets him apart from most forwards at the top level.
“When Harry Kane plays, the whole world watches him. He has taken Bayern Munich and the German league to a new level. Unusually for strikers, Kane puts his responsibility towards the team before his personal success, as he always thinks of his teammates. His conduct, abilities and personality make him the most complete striker of his generation,” Dreesen said.
Kane’s Ballon d’Or contention grows
Kane’s individual honours continue to pile up despite some heartbreak on the team stage.
He missed out on Champions League glory last season, and England settled for third place at the 2026 World Cup. Yet across the Bundesliga campaign, the former Tottenham Hotspur striker contributed 61 goals for Bayern as the club secured another German title, reinforcing his status as one of the most reliable goalscorers in world football.
At 33, Kane remains England’s all-time leading scorer and the undisputed first name on the teamsheet for the Three Lions.
His consistency and volume of goals across multiple seasons have seen him rise to the top of the early 2026 Ballon d’Or rankings, with many in the football world now expecting him to follow Messi, Ronaldo, and others onto the list of winners of football’s most prestigious individual prize.
Kane’s second Golden Shoe only strengthens that case, cementing his place not just as one of the best strikers of his generation but as one of the finest forwards the sport has ever produced.
2026 Ballon d’Or favourites emerge
Earlier, Legit.ng reported about the upcoming 2026 Ballon d’Or race, which is already shaping up with key contenders like Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappe emerging as frontrunners.
With the prestigious award ceremony scheduled for October 26 in London, the stakes are higher than ever as players vie for football’s most coveted individual honour, especially with a World Cup victory in their backgrounds.
Source: Legit.ng