Harry Kane Lets Latest Goal Record Do the Talking in Response to Yamal’s Fiery Ballon d’Or Claim

The Bayern Munich striker had no interest in engaging in a war of words.

Harry Kane is on fire. | Alexandra BEIER/AFP/Getty Images

Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane became the fastest player in Bundesliga history to reach 100 goals on Friday, after which he questioned Lamine Yamal’s suggestion that he is not worthy of the Ballon d’Or.

Yamal has been incredibly outspoken with his belief that he deserves to win this year’s Ballon d’Or. The Barcelona wonderkid is undeniably among the favorites and appeared to suggest Kane was not deserving of a similar status by claiming the award should not go to “a player who has scored 80 goals.”

There was no specific mention of Kane, who ended the 2025–26 campaign with 73 goals for club and country, and the Englishman admitted he had no interest in engaging in a war of words over the Ballon d’Or.

“I don’t know how he meant it,” Kane said of Yamal’s comment. “Yamal is an incredible player. He had a great season, as did many others. [Kylian] Mbappé, Michael [Olise], Rodri ... there are many candidates.”

He added: “Everyone has the right to express themselves however they want. Everyone is different. That’s not up to me. I’ll keep doing my thing on the pitch, and then we’ll see what happens.”

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Kane’s Latest Bundesliga Accolade

Kane made Bundesliga history on Friday. | Adam Pretty/Getty Images

“Doing my thing” is exactly what Kane has been doing. He scored twice in Friday’s 7–0 romp of Union Berlin to net his 100th and 101st Bundesliga goals, reaching a century in just 98 appearances in the competition.

Unsurprisingly, nobody has ever reached 100 Bundesliga goals faster than Kane, who demolished Dieter Müller’s previous record of 129 games that had stood since 1977.

“I’m very proud to have now scored 100 and 101 Bundesliga goals,” Kane reflected after the match. “I haven’t been around that long. I’ve loved every second of it. With Michael, Lucho [Luis Díaz] and Jamal [Musiala] I naturally get chances and today was no exception.

“So I just want to thank the team, the club, the coach and the staff, everyone who has helped me achieve this. Let’s keep going like this. Scoring more goals in games is obviously a big step.

“Of course, there have been many important goals among them. I can only say that I’m enjoying every minute of it. Just like today.”

Yamal may not want to see the Ballon d’Or awarded to a pure goalscorer like Kane, but with record-breaking numbers like this, it may be hard to argue against the England international.

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