Thomas Tuchel said England are lucky to have Harry Kane as their captain after the striker became the Three Lions' first Ballon d'Or winner since 2001.
England are lucky to have Ballon d'Or winner Kane, says Tuchel
After Harry Kane became the first English Ballon d'Or winner in a quarter of a century, Thomas Tuchel was among those to congratulate him.
Kane followed in the footsteps of Michael Owen (2001), Kevin Keegan (1978 and 1979), Bobby Charlton (1966) and Stanley Matthews (1956) by claiming football's most prestigious individual award.
Only France (six) have produced more different Ballon d'Or winners than England's five, and at the age of 33 years and 90 days, Kane is the fourth-oldest first-time winner of the prize.
Only Matthews (41 years, 321 days), Karim Benzema (34 years, 302 days) and Lev Yashin (34 years, 56 days) have claimed their first Ballon d'Or at an older age.
Eight of the last 10 Ballon d'Or winners, including Kane, have been 30 or older, after only seven of the first 60 recipients between 1956 and 2015 were aged above 30.
Kane plundered 73 goals for club and country in 2025-26, including six at the World Cup as England finished third – their best-ever finish on foreign soil.
And Tuchel believes Kane's triumph was long in the making, saying: "I ran out of superlatives to describe your performances a long time ago, but I'm delighted to see that you have now been formally recognised by the football world.
"To become the first Englishman to win this huge honour in 25 years makes it extra special, and we are lucky to have you as our leader.
"I know you will enjoy this moment with your loved ones and then get back to doing what you do best – scoring goals and winning football matches."
Tuchel was among the coaches Kane paid tribute to in his acceptance speech, saying: "All of you played a big role in my development at different stages of my life.
"Without every single one of you I wouldn't be standing here today. I have learnt lots.
"When you surround yourself with the best people, it only improves you as a person and as a player."
Kane has scored in four straight games for England since the World Cup, finding the net six times in total to help England put nine points on the board in the Nations League.
