Last night’s Ballon d’Or ceremony in London honoured one of the city’s own. Harry Kane capped a phenomenal spell at Bayern Munich by winning the Ballon d’Or, with Brazilian legend Ronaldo doing the honours and revealing Kane’s name inside the all-important envelope.
Kane’s climb to the summit of world football has largely been down to the former Tottenham man’s work ethic, desire and determination never to give up. Rejected by Arsenal as a youngster, he then took two attempts to secure a place in Tottenham Hotspur’s academy before signing professional forms in 2010.
Harry’s first start in a Spurs shirt came in August 2011, in the second leg of a UEFA Europa League match against Hearts. Tottenham were already in a commanding position, having won the first leg 5–0. Kane would go on to win and then miss the resulting penalty. The Spurs man would have to wait until December, in the same competition, for his first goal, contributing to a 4–0 away win against Shamrock Rovers.
Spurs would then send Kane out on loan to gain a taste of first-team football, something that would prove invaluable further down the line. Staying local, Harry’s first two spells were with Leyton Orient and Millwall. Scoring five goals in 18 appearances for Orient represented a positive return before he went on to bang in nine goals in 27 appearances for Millwall. Kane would finish his time at The Den by winning Millwall’s Young Player of the Year award for 2011/12.
Despite making his Premier League debut in August 2012, Norfolk was to be Harry Kane’s next destination as Norwich City took the striker on a season-long loan deal. The Canaries sadly didn’t get to see much of their new signing, as a metatarsal injury kept Kane on the sidelines for much of his spell before he was recalled after just three appearances.
Tottenham then decided to allow Harry Kane to bolster Leicester City’s attack in yet another loan move. The Foxes were chasing promotion from the Championship under Nigel Pearson, and Kane managed to bag his first goal for the club on his debut against Blackburn Rovers. The now-famous picture of Jamie Vardy and Harry Kane sitting side by side on Leicester’s bench would prove to be a testament to how far both strikers would go in the years that followed.
Hard work on the road would pay off in a big way for Harry as manager Tim Sherwood placed his faith in Tottenham’s loan ranger. Kane’s form during the 2014/15 season would earn him the PFA Young Player of the Year award, with a return of more than 20 goals and European qualification secured for Spurs.
The 2015/16 season saw Harry Kane top the goalscoring charts as Spurs challenged for the Premier League title. Heartbreak would follow at Stamford Bridge, where Eden Hazard’s strike levelled the game at 2–2, handing the title to Leicester. Kane would go on to win the Golden Boot ahead of his former Leicester teammate Jamie Vardy by just a single goal with a total of 25.
Heartbreak in the League Cup final against Chelsea and the Champions League final against Liverpool would deny Kane his first major honours as a player. Soon enough, the time came to seek pastures new, far away from the city that had given him his start in professional football.
Kane finished the 2022/23 season as Tottenham’s all-time top goalscorer (280), having also made waves on the international stage with England. However, the Three Lions were agonisingly beaten by Italy on penalties at Wembley in the Euro 2020 final. Bayern Munich won the race for Kane’s signature, and it was soon auf Wiedersehen to London.
The change of scenery in Bavaria didn’t herald a change in Kane’s ability to find the back of the net. Eighteen goals in his first campaign, including one from inside his own half against Darmstadt, confirmed Harry’s status as a prolific goalscorer. He also made Bundesliga history and won the Golden Shoe.
Major trophies continued to elude ‘Hat-Trick Harry’, as he was now known in Germany. That would all change in the 2024/25 season as Bayern lifted the Bundesliga title. Kane would experience further euphoria as the 2025/26 season yielded a domestic treble and saw him enter Bayern’s top 10 goalscorers of all time. However, defeat to Spain in the 2024 European Championship final and a semi-final exit to Argentina at the 2026 World Cup still left Kane longing for international honours.
Having recently set yet another record by becoming the fastest player to reach 100 goals in just 98 appearances, Kane has once again written himself into Bundesliga history. At the ceremony celebrating his achievements, Harry Kane was the humble gentleman he has become known and respected for being, choosing to thank those who had helped him along the way and those closest to him.
Having captained his country, broken records and earned the respect of the footballing world, only international honours now await Harry Kane before he can bring the curtain down on a glittering career.
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