Former World Cup winner Lothar Matthaus believes winning the Ballon d'Or will convince Harry Kane he must extend his current deal with Bayern Munich.
Ballon d'Or will convince Kane to stay at Bayern, says Matthaus
Harry Kane is reportedly close to agreeing a new Bayern Munich deal, which will be off the back of his first-time Ballon d'Or win.
Kane became the first Englishman since Michael Owen in 2001 to win the prestigious award on Monday, pipping Kylian Mbappe and Lamine Yamal in the voting.
The striker has also been locked in contract negotiations with Bayern, and reports suggest they are close to agreeing a new deal.
And Matthaus is confident that Kane's latest accolade will only further convince him that he is in the right place at Bayern.
"We are very happy to have Harry Kane in the Bundesliga," Matthaus, the Ballon d'Or winner in 1990, said in an online media roundtable.
"He is an international ambassador of football.
"Maybe he was dreaming to win the Ballon d'Or, but you have to play in a big club like Bayern. He found his peace in Munich and the right club with the right team-mates."
Last season, Kane helped Bayern to the Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal double before then leading England to third place in the World Cup – their best finish since winning the tournament in 1996.
He plundered a remarkable 73 goals for club and country in 2025-26, with the only other instance of a player from Europe's top five leagues scoring 70+ goals in a single campaign coming in 2011-12, when Lionel Messi netted 82 en route to one of his eight Ballon d'Or triumphs.
For Bayern, Kane scored 61 goals in all competitions in the 2025-26 season, 19 more than any other player in Europe's big-five leagues. It was the most by a player in a season since Cristiano Ronaldo scored 61 for Real Madrid in 2014-15.
"I think he gets a bonus [for winning the Ballon d'Or]; 36 years ago, I got nothing," Matthaus added.
"But it is about more than money. It is a good moment to sign [a new deal] for Bayern. Bayern helped him get this Ballon d'Or.
"The relationship between Harry Kane and Bayern Munich is perfect, and with everything that has happened in the last three years, I think Harry will sign his contract for the next two, three years."
