Earlier this year Harry Kane finally ended his trophy drought in the 15th season of his professional career when Bayern Munich were crowned Bundesliga champions. It paved the way for him to target other major prizes, for club, country and himself. Despite being in the form of his life, the England striker ranked only 13th in September at the 2025 Ballon d'Or awards and has never finished higher than 10th in the prestigious list. In the month since Paris St-Germain's Ousmane Dembele was named the world's best player in Paris, it feels like Kane has elevated his game to an even higher, previously unthinkable level. The 32-year-old took his goal tally this season to 20 in 12 club games in all competitions as Bayern Munich beat Club Brugge 4-0 in the Champions League.

Kane is well aware that maintaining his scoring run, winning Europe's biggest club competition, and helping England triumph at the World Cup next summer, will make him a frontrunner for the 2026 Ballon d'Or. "I would love to win it for sure, it would be an accumulation of doing something great individually and as a team," said the former Tottenham Hotspur hero earlier this month. "It would be almost the perfect season." The last English player to win the coveted prize was striker Michael Owen in 2001, when he starred for Liverpool. There have been only three others - Stanley Matthews (1956), Bobby Charlton (1966) and Kevin Keegan (1978, 1979). Could Kane become the fifth, and finally gain recognition for his astonishing scoring feats, or will European football's new generation of talent get in his way? Given how he has started his third campaign with Bayern, this could be the best chance he ever has.

In September, Kane became the fastest player this century to reach 100 goals for a club playing in one of Europe's top five leagues in just 104 games, and has now netted 105 times in 108 matches. No other player in Europe's top five leagues has scored that many since the start of 2023-24. Neither Lionel Messi nor Cristiano Ronaldo reached 20 goals in a season faster than Kane - they needed 17 and 13 respectively - and England's record scorer is averaging a goal every 54 minutes. Having already netted 12 times in seven Bundesliga outings this term, he is on track to score 58 goals. Kane needs another 30 in the remaining 27 games to break Robert Lewandowski's record total of 41 goals in a single Bundesliga season. It's a similar story in Europe. Since his first Champions League match for Bayern in September 2023, he has scored more goals (24) and been directly involved in more goals (24 goals and six assists) than any other player in the competition. Only Dutchman Ruud van Nistelrooy scored more goals in his first 60 games in the competition (48).

But there is more to Kane's Ballon d'Or case than just goals - the work he does on and off the ball when dropping off the forward line is unmatched by other elite goalscorers. "Kane has reinvented the centre-forward game, as Manuel Neuer did with goalkeepers about a decade and a half ago," 1990 Ballon d'Or winner Lothar Matthaus wrote in his column for Sky Germany., external "I don't see a better striker in the world right now. Not just because of his goals, but because of his versatility and the positions he plays. "Kane also demonstrates qualities as a passer, dribbler, and tackler. He is simultaneously a goalscorer, playmaker, box-to-box player, and tackler." The way Kane brings others into games while also maintaining his incredible scoring record does not go unnoticed by his team-mates either.

"Harry makes you better - he is not here just to finish, he will put you in front of the goal," his former Bayern team-mate Kingsley Coman said on the Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast earlier this year. "I feel like he enjoys finding a really nice pass as much as scoring. What is amazing is that he can do both. He is one of the strikers who is easiest to play with. "People say if your striker is selfish then there is a problem. But Harry is not selfish and he bangs in 40 goals or more a season." After Jamal Musiala's leg and ankle break in the summer cost Bayern their main creative force, Manager Vincent Kompany tweaked Kane's role to give him near-total attacking freedom on the pitch. "He is playing like three or four different players on the pitch at the same time, and that makes him so invaluable," said Raphael Honigstein on the BBC Football Daily Euro Leagues podcast. Mina Rzouki added: "His intellect is on another level, his sacrifice for the team is on another level."

Kane, though, is not the only in-form striker looking to be named the best player on the planet. Erling Haaland has scored 24 goals in 14 games for Manchester City and Norway this season, while Kylian Mbappe has 18 in 14 outings for Real Madrid and France. Including his recent England goals, Kane has 23 in 15. While Haaland has scored in 12 consecutive matches and Mbappe's recent run ended at 11, Matthaus feels neither contribute across the pitch quite like Kane. "I've never seen Haaland and Mbappe slide in their own penalty area like Kane did in the 88th minute against [Borussia] Dortmund," he wrote after Kane's all-action performance in Bayern's recent 2-1 win in Der Klassiker. "I also don't see Haaland and Mbappe make passes of 50 metres or more. I haven't seen the chip shots that Kane can play from the other two."

On the occasions Messi and Ronaldo haven't won the Ballon d'Or, though, the winner tends to be someone from a team that has tasted success in the Champions League, Euros or World Cup. "It is a team trophy that the best individual from that team wins," admitted Kane. "But if I keep doing what I am doing and we have a successful season with club and country then there is a chance to do that." With an impressive three wins out of three, Bayern have every chance in this season's Champions League, while England qualified for the 2026 World Cup with six successive group wins - providing hope that this could be the time Kane is able to celebrate that "perfect season". Watch highlights of every Champions League game from 22:00 on Wednesday on BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website and app. There will also be a Champions League Match of the Day on BBC One on Wednesday, from 22:40 to 00:00.