Kane Shares Ballon d’Or Top Scorer Award with Absent Mbappe

Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappe have jointly won the Ballon d’Or Gerd Muller Trophy for being the top scorers in Europe, though Real Madrid forward Mbappe was absent from the ceremony held in Paris.

England captain Kane, who transferred from Tottenham to Bayern Munich last summer, scored an impressive 44 goals in 45 competitive matches during his first season with the German club. Similarly, Mbappe tallied 44 goals in 48 appearances during his final season at Paris Saint-Germain. It’s well worth using lines.com to have a bet on him scoring every week.

Mbappe’s absence was noted at the ceremony at Paris’ Théâtre du Châtelet, as the Real Madrid delegation also skipped the event. Reports from AFP and various Spanish media outlets indicated that Real Madrid cancelled their plans to attend after learning that Vinicius Junior would not be receiving the men’s award. The European champions expressed their displeasure, stating they would not attend “where it is not respected.”

Kane expressed gratitude to his club, Bayern Munich, his staff, and teammates for their support in achieving his goal-scoring success. “It’s an honor to accept this award from a club legend [Karl-Heinz Rummenigge],” Kane said. “Moving to Germany was a new chapter for me. I took my family with me, and it was an experience I didn’t know what to expect. Getting off to the start I did was thanks to my teammates; I just went along for the ride, and we had a great season.”

When co-host Didier Drogba asked Kane about areas he wished to improve, the England captain humorously responded, “My speed. Although age might be catching up with me.”