Harry Kane Eclipses Outrageous Lionel Messi Record From Ballon d’Or Campaign

The Bayern Munich striker reached 20 goal contributions in just 742 minutes this season.

Harry Kane could be an early contender for the 2026 Ballon d’Or. / Marcel Engelbrecht/Firo Sportphoto/Getty Images, Josep Lago/AFP/Getty Images

Harry Kane is in arguably the form of his life for Bayern Munich after scoring twice against Pafos in the Champions League, bringing his season tally up to 20 goal contributions (17 goals, three assists).

In doing so, the England international became the fastest player to record 20 goal contributions to start a season—notably surpassing the high watermark set by Lionel Messi when he won the Ballon d’Or in 2012. Kane started in a slightly less advanced role on Tuesday as loan signing Nicolas Jackson got the nod up top in Vincent Kompany’s 4-2-3-1 system, yet still nabbed a brace.

It’s not the first time Kane has reached that tally in a similar timeframe, having done so previously for Tottenham Hotspur and Bayern in 2020–21 (871 minutes) and 2024–25 (891 minutes) respectively. Although, he passed his past feats by a significant margin.

Only Messi was able to achieve 20 goal contributions in under 800 minutes (13.3 hours) of action previously. Kane had previously beaten names like Erling Haaland, Kylian Mbappé and Cristiano Ronaldo to the mark.

Player	Season (Club)	Minutes Needed to Reach 20 G+A
Harry Kane	2025–26 (Bayern Munich)	742
Lionel Messi	2011–12 (Barcelona)	749
Lionel Messi	2016–17 (Barcelona)	844
Harry Kane	2020–21 (Tottenham)	871
Harry Kane	2024–25 (Bayern Munich)	891
Claudio Pizarro	2012–13 (Bayern Munich)	910
Erling Haaland	2022–23 (Man City)	915
Serhou Guirassy	2023–24 (Stuttgart)	953
Kylian Mbappé	2018–19 (PSG)	959
Cristiano Ronaldo	2014–15 (Real Madrid)	990

Stats via Transfermarkt.

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Is Kane an Early 2026 Ballon d’Or Contender?

Kane has already reached double digits in the Bundesliga, the only player to do so across Europe’s top five leagues. The two closest to him are Manchester City’s Haaland and Real Madrid’s Mbappé who both have eight in the Premier League and La Liga respectively.

2026 Ballon d’Or Contenders. 2026 Ballon d’Or Contenders—Ranked. dark. Next

The England captain finds himself in an early conversation for 2026 Ballon d’Or contenders, or at minimum the Gerd Müller Trophy given to the best striker in the world every year.

Kane captured his first piece of major silverware last season lifting the Bundesliga title, scoring 41 goals and racking up 14 assists in 51 appearances across all competitions. Those swollen figures were only enough for a 13th-placed finish in the 2025 Ballon d’Or shortlist, three positions lower from 2024.

Should Kane keep up his form and win more trophies this season, he could find himself in the conversation for not only a higher shortlist ranking but a contender for the award.

Competitions	Goals	Assists	Appearances
Bundesliga	10	3	5
Champions League	4	0	2
DFB-Pokal (German Cup)	2	0	1
German Supercup	1	0	1
Total	17	3	9

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