Why Harry Kane Stands Out in the Ballon d'Or Race

The votes for the Ballon d'Or have been counted, but this year's winner is harder to pick than in usual years. The most successful players at club level have often been the ones who also lifted the most important trophy. This season, however, Bayern Munich and Barcelona won only their domestic leagues, while Arsenal won the title without their key forwards. The World Cup also changes the debate, since England and France fell short of expectations.

Kane's results in the Champions League and the World Cup are certainly open to debate. Still, the 33-year-old forward scored 73 goals across club and national team football. His 36 goals in 31 Bundesliga matches is a figure matched only by Gerd Muller and Robert Lewandowski.

PSG are the best team in Europe, yet many of their players were often left out of the squad in the league. For this reason, the minutes totals of players like Dembele, Joao Neves and Nuno Mendes are a disadvantage in the award race. Vitinha, on the other hand, played almost 4,000 minutes at club level and became the engine of his team, ranking second for progressive passes across Europe's top five leagues.

In short, there is no single answer this year that everyone will accept. In the writer's view, the least debatable choice is Harry Kane.