Spanish media have explained why Lamine Yamal missed out on the Ballon d'Or to Harry Kane

Spanish media took Harry Kane beating Lamine Yamal to the Ballon d'Or well and offered up reasons why the World Cup winner had missed out on the award. Kane is a popular winner after following in the footsteps of England legends Stanley Matthews, Bobby Charlton, Kevin Keegan and Michael Owen.

Real Madrid forward Kylian Mbappe and Barcelona winger Yamal provided strong competition but Kane's 73 goals last season, most of which propelled Bayern Munich to a domestic treble in Germany, made him impossible to overlook.

Despite there being some disappointment from Spanish outlets, there were few complaints. AS's headline read "not Yamal or Mbappe" as if some great travesty had been committed.

But the report itself was gushing in its praise for Kane, saying the award "recognises a career like few others, the career of one of the best strikers, and footballers, in history." It added: "There was no second star this summer, but the English will still feel that 'Football's Coming Home.'"

Another article on the same site argued that the award could have been shared in a year "in a year of imperfect candidates" while praising Kane's "impeccable yet understated career, which deserved recognition."

It said: "Given equal merit, the most prestigious competition of the season should have been granted the tiebreaker." On Yamal, it added: "Lamine was penalised by his lack of brilliance in the crucial moments."

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Catalan title MonEsport agreed, saying Yamal's "discreet role" in the World Cup probably cost him the award. It said: "Having won the League and the Super Cup with Barca and the World Cup with the Spanish national team has not been enough. His discreet role in the World Cup is probably what has condemned him."

SPORT said: "Lamine and Mbappe could have won it, but the jury wasn't influenced by the players' campaigns. It should always be that way, because it's an award earned on the pitch. A sunny day at the beach in London until a hurricane snatched away the gold."

Marca spotted the trend of a Spain player not winning the award in the year the country won the World Cup. It said: "Once again, it leaves Spain without a Ballon d'Or in the year they won the World Cup, as happened in 2010. On that occasion, Messi beat Iniesta and Xavi Hernandez."

MundoDeportivo focused on Kane's brilliance, saying: "His tremendous goalscoring streak, the second best in history only behind Leo Messi 's in 2011-12 (82 goals), made him one of the top candidates for the award, which he ultimately won."