Hull City goalkeeper and former England star Jack Butland believes there’s nobody quite like Harry Kane, saying the forward fully deserved the Ballon d’Or award.
Kane became the first Englishman in 25 years, since Michael Owen to pick up one of football’s most prestigious awards at a glittering ceremony at the London Palladium last week, and in doing so, he beat off competition from teammate Jude Bellingham, as well as Kylian Mbappé, Lamine Yamal and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.
Butland played 24 times with Kane, from making their debut together with England’s Under-17s against Portugal in February 2010, including World Cup and European Championship qualifiers.
The City stopper, who played his first game since pre-season against Derby County’s Under-21s on Monday night after a lengthy injury lay-off, was also in the World Cup squad with Kane when the Three Lions made it to the semi-final of the World Cup in Russia under Gareth Southgate back in 2018.
Make sure you never miss the latest Hull City news and opinion by making Hull Live one of your Google preferred sources.
Kane scored 73 goals for Bayern Munich and England across the 2025/26 campaign, and it was that form that helped the 30-year-old become the world’s best. Prior to the 2-2 draw with Dortmund on Saturday night, Kane had bagged a remarkable 156 goals in 158 games for the German giants.
Butland was gushing in his praise of his former England teammate, revealing how the former Tottenham Hotspur man has not had it easy through his career, but always remained the same, grounded, humble person he was when they first played together at the Algarve Tournament at the Estádio da Nora in Albufeira almost 17 years ago.
“I think he just deserved it for me, whether I’m biased because I’m English. I think if you look at the face of it, what he’s done, what he’s carried and what he’s led his team to do, what he’s done for England, how far he’s carried us, but his rise,” Butland told Hull Live. “I was with him from a young age with the England age groups when he was going on loans and finding it difficult and things like that, but he’s been the same person the whole time.
“He’s always had the same work ethic, and he’s a joy to watch. I don’t think there is anyone in the game like him. I know people want to go down the Lamine Yamal and (Kylian) Mbappé route and stuff like that. They’re incredible players in their own right, but I don’t think there’s anyone that can do what Harry Kane can do and how he does it, so for me, he’s fully deserving.”
Here at Hull Live , we are dedicated to bringing you the best Hull City coverage and analysis. Make sure you don’t miss out on the latest City news by joining our free WhatsApp group.
You can get all the breaking news and best analysis sent straight to your phone by clicking here to subscribe. You can also subscribe to our free newsletter service. Click here to be sent all the day’s biggest stories.