The awards ceremony is tonight and if there is any justice, Harry Kane will win.

Harry Kane is no Flash Harry.

He is a late developer. He is also a one-off. The numbers are extraordinary, but they tell only part of the story.

Since joining Bayern Munich in August 2023, Kane has scored at a rate that would have seemed absurd even for a player of his ability. 158 goals in 156 games. These are numbers from another world.

Tomorrow night, at the London Palladium, he could become only the fifth Englishman to win the Ballon d’Or, following Stanley Matthews, Bobby Charlton, Kevin Keegan and Michael Owen. Plenty of outstanding English footballers - Bryan Robson, Paul Scholes, Steven Gerrard, Jimmy Greaves - have missed out. This is an exclusive club.

The Ballon d’Or is football’s equivalent of the Oscars, an attempt to recognise excellence in a game that too often takes its greatest players for granted. Kane deserves to be part of that conversation.

I watched Bayern against Arsenal in the Champions League last week. I expected Arsenal to win. German football is not what it was, and Bayern are no longer the intimidating force they once were. Yet Kane produced a moment of real quality, dropping deep and delivering a magnificent 35-yard pass along the ground to create their opening goal.

Some people criticise him for dropping deep. They want their centre-forward planted between the posts, waiting for crosses. Kane understands that football is more complicated than that. He comes looking for the ball, links the play and creates opportunities for others. He does not simply wait for the game to come to him.

What makes him exceptional, though, is not just his football. It is the man himself.

Kane is ordinary in the best possible sense. There is no great performance of celebrity, no endless exhibition of self-regard. He does not behave as if the world owes him something. He gets on with his job.

Think of Lionel Messi, whose genius has always been accompanied by a certain modesty. Then think of Cristiano Ronaldo, who can make winning a corner look like a personal triumph. Kane belongs to a different tradition. He is understated, unselfish and composed.

He is an archetypal English professional, but there is nothing old-fashioned about his intelligence. He is a leader without needing to announce himself as one. His modesty does not feel manufactured for public consumption. It appears to be part of his character.

He has delivered for England when they needed him. He has scored more than 500 goals for club and country. He is Tottenham’s record goalscorer, England’s record goalscorer and one of the most prolific players in Premier League and Champions League history.

Longevity matters. Great players do not sustain their standards by accident. They look after themselves, remain hungry and learn to adapt. Kane began his career as a gangly young forward, sent out on loan to find his feet, including at Millwall, my former club. There was no guarantee that he would become the player we see today.

He has made himself indispensable through work, discipline and an understanding of what the team requires. He does not pick fights with teammates, blame the manager or make excuses when things go wrong. He is the sort of player other professionals want beside them.

That is a quality we should value more highly in modern football. The game has become crowded with egos, agents, manufactured controversies and players who seem to believe that their public profile is as important as their contribution on the pitch.

Kane has avoided that nonsense. He is not a whinger. He does not generate headlines by behaving like a fool. He is good copy because he is good at football, not because he is forever creating some fresh drama.

Of course, the Ballon d’Or must ultimately recognise exceptional footballers. It cannot be a prize for good behaviour. Kane’s case rests on his goals, his influence and his consistency at the highest level. His character strengthens that case rather than replacing it.

There is not a black mark against his name that comes close to diminishing what he has achieved. He has been a credit to his profession.

He may have several more years at the top. If so, the numbers will become even more remarkable.

Harry Kane gets the job done. He does not need to tell us how good he is. The evidence is there for everybody to see. He has scored more goals for Bayern in three years than Arjen Robben got in a decade.

The club’s greatest striker - Gerd Muller - ended up with 565 goals. But he was there 15 years. At the rate Kane is going - he would surpass Muller.

That is greatness.

And he deserves recognised for it with a Ballon D’Or.