Paulinho backs Kane for Ballon d'Or tilt, says Haaland is unstoppable

Harry Kane has been backed to contend for the Ballon d'Or by his former Tottenham team-mate Paulinho, though the Brazilian believes Erling Haaland is unstoppable and will rival the England captain.

Kane has been in tremendous form for Bayern Munich so far this season, scoring 23 goals and supplying three assists in 17 games across all competitions.

He leads all players from Europe's top five leagues for both goals and total goal involvements, with his 23 goals coming from just 14.8 expected goals (xG). 

The Englishman's xG overperformance of 8.2 is also the best by any player, while he has converted 16 (59.3%) of his 27 Opta-defined big chances.  

Kane finished 13th in the 2025 Ballon d'Or voting as Paris Saint-Germain's Ousmane Dembele was crowned the world's best player, but Paulinho – who played alongside Kane at White Hart Lane between 2013 and 2015 – thinks the striker could fare better in the future.

"The way football is today, I think it depends, obviously, on the team's performance as well, but with the way he has been playing for many years now, yes, there is a possibility.

"If I have that thought, I imagine that he also has it, and he might feel he can be in the running for the Ballon d'Or one day."

Reflecting on his time working with Kane, who enjoyed his breakout season in 2014-15, Paulinho said: "Harry Kane was always a boy who attracted a lot of attention. When he was with us, I always saw in Harry a certain ease and a difference from other young players. 

"When he came up to train with the professionals, the way he shot, the way he was hungry to score goals and the way he behaved, he was a boy who always attracted attention. 

"But I would never have imagined that he would become one of the best players in the world today, one of the best centre-forwards. It's well deserved, because I spent two years at Tottenham and saw Harry's development. Today he is one of the best in world football."

But Kane is not the only striker Paulinho is a huge admirer of. 

Manchester City's Haaland has scored 19 times in 15 games at club level this term, and when asked how to stop the Norwegian, Paulinho proposed an unorthodox solution.

He said: "Only if we put a lorry in front of him, or a trailer, or something to stop him from scoring! 

"It's not a comparison, but they are centre-forwards, Kane and Haaland, they are hungry to score goals. That says it all. 

"As a centre-forward, if you don't score in one or two games, it bothers you, so they must score in every game. I think that's their ambition.

"He's scored more goals than he's played games this season, right? And there will be more."