Lamine Yamal vs. Harry Kane: How many times has the top scorer won the Ballon d'Or?

The 2026 Ballon d'Or conflict is intensifying, and successful conscionable a fewer weeks' time, the adjacent victor of football's astir prestigious idiosyncratic grant volition waltz up to the London signifier to cod their hard-earned trophy.

A record-extending ninth triumph for Lionel Messi - portion imaginable - is not expected to travel to fruition, but Ousmane Dembele is simply a beardown contender to clasp the accolade helium collected successful 2025.

However, the juicy head-to-head betwixt Bayern Munich's Harry Kane and Barcelona's Lamine Yamal is presently dominating the Ballon d'Or debate, particularly aft the former's latest milestone accomplishment aft the latter's not-so-subtle dig.

After Yamal insisted that the Ballon d'Or should beryllium awarded to the champion player alternatively than the champion goalscorer, Kane smashed yet different record, netting 100 Bundesliga goals successful an unprecedented 98 matches.

Hailed the "king" by the German media, Kane is the bookies' favourite to go the archetypal English victor of the Ballon d'Or for 25 years, but does Yamal's 'best subordinate implicit champion goalscorer' assertion align with history?

Here, Sports Mole takes a look astatine however galore European Golden Shoe winners since 2000 besides won the Ballon d'Or for that year/season.

Five European apical scorer and Ballon d'Or winners since 2000

Show doubles lone ✓ Same subordinate won both

While prolific attackers volition people presumption themselves astatine the apical of the Ballon d'Or shortlist - unless your sanction is Rodri, Luka Modric oregon Fabio Cannavaro - scoring the astir goals does not warrant a Ballon d'Or crowning, arsenic the humanities information shows.

Indeed, lone 5 recipients of the European Golden Shoe person besides claimed the world's champion subordinate prize since 2000, and nary since Messi successful the 2018-19 season.

Kylian Mbappe topped the continental scoring charts successful 2024-25 with 31 efforts, but Dembele's Champions League coronation trumped his compatriot's attacking achievements, portion Erling Haaland and Robert Lewandowski person besides been snubbed successful caller years.

The second has been crowned the honorary victor of the cancelled 2020 Ballon d'Or by fans, but Lewandowski was not adjacent the astir prolific striker successful Europe that twelvemonth - that grant went to Ciro Immobile.

In fact, Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are the lone European Golden Shoe and Ballon d'Or treble winners successful history, the erstwhile besides doing truthful successful 2009-10 and 2011-12, portion Ronaldo managed the feat successful 2007-08 and 2013-14.

How galore Ballon d'Or winners haven't won the Champions League, Euros, Copa America oregon World Cup?

Show trophy winners lone ? Won that contention the aforesaid year

In stark contrast, players who person achieved tremendous squad occurrence - either the Champions League, Euros, Copa America oregon World Cup - are acold much apt to besides instrumentality location the Ballon d'Or.

Since 2000, 16 of the 25 Ballon d'Or winners - 64% - besides won 1 of the 4 large accolades astatine squad level, including each of the recipients since 2021.

Of the 9 incidences of a subordinate winning a Ballon d'Or without a UCL, Euros, Copa America oregon World Cup, Messi and Ronaldo are liable for 4 of them, alongside Ronaldinho, Pavel Nedved, Andriy Shevchenko, Luis Figo and Michael Owen.

Interestingly, lone 1 of the six Ballons d'Or betwixt 2000 and 2005 went to a subordinate who had won 1 of the 4 large honours - Brazil's 2002 World Cup fable Ronaldo - truthful squad occurrence evidently carries acold much value than it utilized to.