Football journalist and analyst Dr. Constantin Eckner believes Harry Kane could finally win the Ballon d’Or, putting the Bayern Munich striker ahead of Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal in what he expects to be a two-man race.

Speaking to Casino Guru, Eckner argued that Kane’s individual performances deserve recognition despite his lack of major trophies, while also highlighting the importance of breaking away from the era of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo dominating the award.

“Yes. I see him, pretty much ahead of Lamine Yamal, I think it will be a race between these two. Either be Harry Kane or Lamine Yamal, and it might be Harry Kane’s time, even though he didn’t win a trophy, even though he got eliminated in two semifinals in the Champions League and World Cup. But his individual performances, the goals he scored, not just from penalties, from taking penalties, but just in general, I think he would be the safe winner. We are now behind the time where it was a race between Messi and Ronaldo all the time. That’s why it’s much more of an open race,” Eckner said. “Harry Kane, with him getting older, now it’s time for him to win it, because he’s a great striker, one of the best in the world, and he’s also a great sportsman. I think that should count for something. Yamal wasn’t really fit at the World Cup, so he couldn’t really impress, even though Spain won the World Cup. But it wasn’t down to Yamal having outstanding performances that Spain won the World Cup.

“At the same time, Bayern Munich are lobbying for Harry Kane to win the Ballon d’Or. Also, as a sign to other players like Michael Olise, that you can actually be a player for Bayern Munich and win the Ballon d’Or. At one point in time, it felt like you had to play for Real Madrid, Barcelona, or maybe one of the other major clubs in England, maybe, to win the Ballon d’Or. It would be also a sign you can play in the Bundesliga and still win the Ballon d’Or.

“I think that’s just like Ousmane Dembélé and Kylian Mbappé, being Paris Saint-Germain players, at not one of the strongest leagues in the world. It would be helpful as a sign, because it’s better that way that we have 10, 15 players realistically striving to win it. It makes football a little bit more exciting than just two or three players being in contention all the time.”

For Bayern Munich, Kane winning the Ballon d’Or would represent more than individual recognition for one of the world’s best strikers. It would also strengthen the Bundesliga’s standing on the global stage and send a message to future stars that Munich can be the place to reach the very top of the game. With Kane’s goalscoring record and Yamal’s growing reputation setting up a compelling contest, could this finally be the year the Bayern striker gets his long-awaited individual crowning achievement?