The 2026 Ballon d'Or ceremony, hosted by France Football at the Palladium Theatre in London, crowned Kane as Player of the Year, while Barcelona and Spanish football also shone brightly across multiple awards.
However, from the moment the winner's name was announced, debate began about whether it was fair to award the English player the most important individual prize in the sport. Regardless, the fact remains that 73 goals and a domestic treble were enough for Kane to lift the 2026 Ballon d'Or.
Content creator Dani Quintana, with over 100,000 followers, posted a video on TikTok questioning the criteria used to select the Ballon d'Or winner. In the video, he pointed out that Raphinha had a similar season to Kane the previous year but ultimately missed out on the trophy.
In this content supporting the Barcelona captain, one detail stood out: Raphinha himself liked the video. This action could perhaps be interpreted as support for the content creator's views.
Kane and Raphinha: Ballon d'Or Comparison
The 2026 Ballon d'Or winner Kane had an outstanding season, and remarkably, just two years prior, he had never won a major title. He won the Bundesliga, the German Cup, and the German Super Cup, reached the Champions League semi-finals, and finished third in the 2026 World Cup. Individually, he scored 73 goals and provided 8 assists in 65 matches.
Despite not winning the World Cup, the Bayern Munich player's primary case for the award rested on his goal-scoring record and domestic titles. However, given his exceptional goal tally, the Golden Boot and Gerd Müller Award exist specifically to recognize this achievement—and Kane claimed both honors.
Looking back at the previous season, Raphinha won La Liga, the Copa del Rey, and the Spanish Super Cup with Barcelona, and also reached the Champions League semi-finals. Personally, the Brazilian winger contributed nearly 60 goals and finished as the top scorer and assist provider in the same Champions League campaign.
Yet these achievements did not help him break into the top positions of the Ballon d'Or rankings. The award ultimately went to Dembele, who won the Champions League with Paris Saint-Germain and was a decisive figure in the knockout stages of that competition.
While calling the 2026 Ballon d'Or unfair might be an overstatement, it's difficult to argue that Raphinha didn't deserve greater recognition last season, particularly since he didn't even finish in the top three.