Real Madrid told they made transfer mistake not signing Harry Kane to replace legend

Kane won the Ballon d'Or after scoring 73 goals in 2025/26; a pundit argues Real Madrid should have signed him in 2023 to replace Benzema instead of him joining Bayern.

Harry Kane claimed the Ballon d'Or on Monday, becoming the first Englishman to win football's most prestigious individual award since Michael Owen in 2001. The Bayern Munich striker scored 73 goals in 65 matches across club and country during the 2025/26 season, winning the Bundesliga title, German Cup, German Super Cup, and captaining England to the World Cup semi-finals.

Kane's three years in Germany have been transformative. Since joining Bayern in 2023 after 20 years at Tottenham, he has scored 156 goals in 159 appearances and finally ended his trophy drought with Bundesliga glory at age 31. Last season alone he netted 61 goals in 51 matches and won the European Golden Boot with 36 league strikes.

However, Spanish football correspondent Phil Kitromiledes has suggested Real Madrid made a transfer mistake by not pursuing Kane in summer 2023 as a replacement for Karim Benzema, who departed for Saudi Arabia. Kitromiledes argued Kane's blend of goalscoring and playmaking—similar to Benzema's style—would have made him the ideal successor. Kane instead chose Bayern, where his decision has proven vindicated by his Ballon d'Or triumph. He pipped Kylian Mbappé, who finished second, and Lamine Yamal in third.