When Harry Kane won the Ballon d'Or, he took a moment to thank Tottenham Hotspur -- the club he joined at 11 and stayed at until he was 30.
While he plays for Bayern Munich these days, he was shaped by his time at Tottenham as he rose through the ranks from academy level to became the north London club's all-time top goalscorer. Now, he has won the biggest individual honour in football.
With Kane paying tribute to his roots in England, ESPN has been looking at which other English clubs have produced the most Ballon d'Or winners over the past 69 years.
We have considered only the former clubs of Ballon d'Or winners (i.e. the clubs that helped produce them) or the clubs that players represented while claiming the award -- so, for example, Tottenham are here for their significant role in helping Kane on his football journey.
Clubs who inherited a Ballon d'Or winner after the player claimed the trophy earlier in their career with a different team have not been counted -- for example Chelsea, who signed former winners Ruud Gullit, George Weah and Andriy Shevchenko, or Newcastle, Man United and Stoke, who later signed Michael Owen.
Manchester United: Four Ballon d'Or winners
Denis Law, Bobby Charlton, George Best, Cristiano Ronaldo (x5)
Man United are the English club that have produced the highest number of Ballon d'Or winners in the history of the award.
Denis Law was the first United player to win the prize in 1964.
In 1966 -- the year that England won the World Cup for the first and only time in their history -- Bobby Charlton, who was a member of that legendary England team, won the Ballon d'Or.
Law was affectionately known as "The King" during his 13 years at United.
In 1968, George Best took home the honour, meaning that the entire "United Trinity" -- composed of Law, Charlton and Best -- were all crowned the best player in the world during their time at the club.
After Best's success, it would be quite a while then until a United player won the Ballon d'Or again.
In fact, it took another 40 years. In 2008, Cristiano Ronaldo won the first of five Ballons d'Or -- and that was the only time that he won it at United, as he left for Real Madrid in 2009.
He then went on to win it in 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2017 as he and his great rival Lionel Messi dominated the sport throughout the late 2000s and the 2010s.
Liverpool: Two Ballon d'Or winners
Kevin Keegan, Michael Owen
After United, Liverpool are the English club that can boast the most Ballon d'Or winners from their ranks.
Club legend Kevin Keegan won the honour in consecutive years -- 1978 and 1979.
Keegan made 323 appearances for Liverpool and scored 100 goals. He spent arguably the most important years of his career there, although he actually won the Ballon d'Or while he was at Hamburger.
Michael Owen won in 2001 and, up until Harry Kane's victory on Monday night, he was the last Englishman to claim the prize. Owen scored 158 goals in 297 appearances during his time at Anfield.
In fact, Keegan and Owen are amongst just five Englishmen to ever win the Ballon d'Or.
Tottenham Hotspur: Two Ballon d'Or winners
Harry Kane, Luka Modrić
With Harry Kane having now picked up the honour, Tottenham can officially say one of their own -- who came through their academy to become one of the most lethal strikers in the world -- is a Ballon d'Or winner.
Kane, who spent time on loan at Norwich, Leicester, Milwall and Leyton Orient before he broke through at Tottenham, scored 280 goals in 435 appearances for Spurs before he left for Bayern Munich in 2023.
There was someone else, though, that was crowned the best player in the world who also spent some of his formative years in north London.
Croatian midfield maestro Luka Modrić claimed the 2018 Ballon d'Or. While he was at Real Madrid at the time, it was at Tottenham between 2008 and 2012 that Modrić truly emerged as one of the best talents in the world -- before he got a move to the Spanish giants.
Manchester City: Two Ballon d'Or winners
Denis Law, Rodri
Before Denis Law became a legend at Man United, he actually spent a year at cross-city rivals Man City.
In 1960, Law signed for City in then-British record transfer fee. He moved from Huddersfield Town for what is estimated to have been around £55,000 -- the equivalent of about £1.15 million in 2026.
He moved to Italian side Torino in 1961, before joining United in 1962 and then winning the Ballon d'Or in 1964.
City boasted a Ballon d'Or winner much more recently -- Rodri claimed the prize in 2024 and became the first active City player to do so.
He spent seven years at City, made 298 appearances and won the Treble with the club in 2023.
Scunthorpe United: One Ballon d'Or winner
Kevin Keegan
Kevin Keegan's illustrious career began at Scunthorpe United. He came through the youth ranks at the north Lincolnshire team and made over 100 appearances for the side between 1968 and 1971.
It was at Scunthorpe that Keegan caught the attention of legendary Liverpool boss Bill Shankly.
Less than a decade after leaving Scunthorpe, he won the Ballon d'Or back-to-back.
Blackpool: One Ballon d'Or winner
Stanley Matthews
Blackpool have produced a singular Ballon d'Or winner, and the very first to receive the award, in Sir Stanley Matthews.
Matthews won the inaugural Ballon d'Or in 1956, beating out Real Madrid icon Alfredo di Stéfano as he did so.
He won the FA Cup with Blackpool in 1953 in a match now often referred to as "the Matthews final."
Matthews is the only player in history to have been knighted while still playing football. He played at the top level of football until he was 50.
Stoke City: One Ballon d'Or winner
Stanley Matthews
Stanley Matthews' career began at Stoke. He started there in his youth and played for the club at senior level for 15 years between 1932 and 1947.
Matthews returned to Stoke in 1961 for a four-year spell, following a successful era at Blackpool -- during which he won the Ballon d'Or.
Huddersfield Town: One Ballon d'Or winner
Denis Law
Denis Law, who won the Ballon d'Or while playing for Man United, got his start in football at Huddersfield Town.
He spent five years, between 1955 and 1960, at the club and made his professional debut in 1956 at just 16-years-old.
Not long after his debut, Sir Matt Busby -- then the head coach of United -- offered £10,000 to sign Law. The bid was rejected by Huddersfield. In today's market, £10,000 is equivalent to £226,000.
Law scored 19 goals in 91 games for Huddersfield, before leaving for brief stints at Man City, Torino and, eventually, United.
He won the Ballon d'Or in 1964.