If the Ballon d'Or was a numbers game, Harry Kane would have it sewn up.
His goalscoring has always been exceptional, but it's gone to another level since he made the move to Bavaria from north London in 2023.
Kane has laid waste to the best defences in German football since then, scoring 158 goals in 156 matches for Bayern Munich. This year's Ballon d'Or voters, though, are told to only account for performances between Aug. 3, 2025 and July 19, 2026
Will he become the fifth Englishman to win the Ballon d'Or? His 73 goals in 65 matches during those 11 months certainly make for a compelling case.
Kane's best club season on record
Kane went into overdrive last season, scoring 17 goals more than the previous high water mark he set during his first campaign in Germany.
When his England goals are added, his total rises to 73 which makes it the second-best scoring season by a player since 2000, behind only Lionel Messi's frankly unbelievable 82 in 69 matches for Barcelona and Argentina in 2011-12.
There is debate over how much we should be impressed by Kane's staggering record at Bayern.
It is hard to argue against the fact he faces lower quality opposition week in, week out in the Bundesliga compared to his time in the Premier League with Tottenham Hotspur.
However, Kane's goalscoring in Germany is more than a match for some of the best to have played in the country.
The England captain's tally (158) is a long way behind the totals amassed by Gerd Müller (365) and Robert Lewandowski (312), but he is scoring at a better rate than his fellow Bayern legends.
Kane averages 1.05 goals per game in the German top flight, while Müller managed 0.86 and Lewandowski 0.81.
Kane's domestic dominance
Comparing Kane's numbers to the best of the rest in the Bundesliga right now is another matter, though.
Last season, he scored nearly double the total managed by second-placed Deniz Undav in the race for the Torjägerkanone -- the Bundesliga's Golden Boot -- and more than the combined efforts of third-placed Serhou Guirassy and fourth-placed Patrik Schick.
Kane's playmaking abilities also saw him register eight assists -- meaning he averaged 1.32 goal contributions per appearance in 2025-26.
Away from the Bundesliga, Kane was also the top scorer in the German Cup and second only to Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappé in the Champions League chart.
How Kane's goalscoring compares to Ballon d'Or rivals
There is no question that Kane was the most lethal forward in world football last season.
His closest rivals for the Ballon d'Or, Mbappé and Lamine Yamal, have their own credentials, but in pure goalscoring they are no match for Kane.
Mbappé did outscore Kane at the World Cup as both France and England made it to the semifinal stage, but Yamal, despite winning the tournament with Spain, only got on the scoresheet once for his country all year.
If it comes down to who can put the ball in the back of the net -- you know, the thing that actually wins games of football -- then Kane will be receiving the Ballon d'Or in London at the end of the month.