Harry Kane Named Germany's Player of the Year
BERLIN — Harry Kane’s extraordinary first chapter at Bayern Munich has its defining line now: Germany’s Player of the Year.
The England captain was voted the country’s standout footballer for 2026 after a season in which he simply overwhelmed scoreboards. Kane hit 61 goals in all competitions for Bayern, a haul that included the German Supercup and culminated in a hat trick in the German Cup final as the Bavarian club retained their Bundesliga crown and added more silverware to an already bulging cabinet.
His impact has spilled straight into the new campaign. On Saturday, Bayern beat Borussia Dortmund 2-1 in the German Supercup. Kane didn’t score this time, but he still walked away with another trophy and, a day later, another individual accolade.
The award, run by Kicker magazine and decided by 659 members of the Association of German Sports Journalists (VDS), turned into a clear verdict. Kane collected 272 votes, comfortably ahead of Bayern teammate Michael Olise, who finished second with 203.
- Deniz Undav picked up 61 votes,
- Bayern’s Joshua Kimmich on 21
- Hoffenheim goalkeeper Oliver Baumann on 14.
Kicker reported three invalid ballots in the poll.
On the touchline, Vincent Kompany’s rapid rise at Bayern has already been stamped with national recognition. The Belgian received nearly half of all votes cast for Coach of the Year, beating Freiburg’s Julian Schuster, last year’s winner, to the honor.
Florian Wirtz held the Player of the Year title last year; now it passes to Kane, whose debut seasons in Germany are already being etched into the award’s history.
The Player of the Year prize has been handed out since 1960, with the coaching award introduced in 2002. Franz Beckenbauer still stands alone with four player titles, while Jürgen Klopp and Felix Magath share the benchmark among coaches with three wins each.
Kane and Kompany have joined that roll of names. The real question now is how long they plan to stay on it.
