The Maradona advice that helped shape Harry Kane’s Ballon d'Or triumph

Harry Kane’s legacy as one of football’s all-time greats is now firmly secured. Harry Kane won the 2026 Men's Ballon d'Or and the Bayern Munich forward joined an elite brotherhood of icons, becoming the first British player to take home the prestigious honour since Michael Owen in 2001.

Kane earned the accolade after an extraordinary 2026/27 campaign in which he bagged 73 goals for club and country, a single-season tally surpassed only by Lionel Messi's mythical 82-goal haul in 2011/12.

What Maradona told Harry Kane when they met

Long celebrated for his playmaker vision and technical finesse, Kane possesses a rare ability to drop deep and dismantle opposing backlines with precise distribution. Still, his lethal efficiency in front of net continues to steal the spotlight.

It is particularly fascinating, then, to look back at 2017, when a 24-year-old Kane was already earning high praise from Diego Maradona during his time at Tottenham Hotspur and received a bit of iconic finishing advice from the Argentine legend himself.

When Maradona met Kane for the first time, the Argentine remarked, "Wow, what a goalscorer. Hugo [Lloris] stops everything at one end, and Harry puts everything in at the other."

Maradona also had some advice for the future Ballon d'Or winner, telling him to mix up his finishing:

"Don't always go near post with your shots. Go across goal sometimes. You know why? Goalkeepers watch you on TV all the time. So next time... across!"

It appears Maradona's words left a lasting impression. Reflecting on their interaction during the 2026 World Cup, Kane recalled:

“[Maradona] was great when I met him. We only spoke briefly. There was a clip of him talking about me finishing and giving the keeper the eyes. It’s quite a nice clip actually."

In the years following that brief encounter, Kane became the all-time leading scorer for both Tottenham Hotspur and the English national team, while also becoming the fastest player ever to reach 100 goals in the Bundesliga. Maradona's tips on beating the keeper may well have played a subtle role in refining what has become one of the most lethal finishes in world football.

Diego Maradona never won the Ballon d'Or because, till 1994, the award was only given to European players. Although Diego Maradona played in Europe for clubs like Barcelona and Napoli, his Argentine nationality made him ineligible for the award, meaning he missed out during peak years such as his 1986 World Cup campaign.

The eligibility rules changed in 1995 to include non-European players playing for European clubs (with George Weah becoming the first non-European winner that year). By 1995, Diego Maradona was 35 years old and past his prime playing years.

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