What’s Mr Ballon d’Or up to?

Ballon d’Or winner Harry Kane ran up to the penalty spot in his golden boots and... missed.

Kane hit the crossbar instead of scoring as his first game as the holder of football’s biggest individual award didn’t quite live up to the pre-game hype. Perhaps nothing could.

By the time Bayern kicked off against Dortmund in the Klassiker, Kane had put on his special-edition boots with golden soles, been honoured in a pre-game ceremony on the field, and had a colossal Kane likeness projected onto the side of Munich’s TV tower.


One of the quirks at Bayern is that a club sponsor arranges for a cluster of fans to wear white hooded ponchos and sit in the shape of its logo in the stands to create a living advertisement on Saturday. They were shimmering in gold, too.

Read more: Bayern and Kane host Dortmund after week of 'extremes'

Kane spoke before the game of being “extremely proud to be a Bayern Munich player” and thanked the fans. But a frustrating evening ensued as a 2-2 draw kept Bayern and Dortmund level on points at the top of the Bundesliga.

He did everything but score. Kane’s sheer number of goals — 73 for club and country last season — was a big factor in Kane becoming the first Bayern player to win the Ballon d’Or in 45 years and the first English winner in 25 years.

Even though he didn’t score on Saturday, he offered glimpses of how he’s evolved into a more creative, allround attacking threat for Bayern, too. Kane found space to meet a cross from deep and met it with a cushioned header that gave Dayot Upamecano an easy job of scoring Bayern’s second goal.

Earlier, he won a penalty when his volley hit Felix Nmecha’s outstretched arm. He scored 17 penalties for Bayern alone in the all-action 2025-26 season that won him the Ballon d’Or, but this one cracked off the bar as Kane aimed for the top-left corner.

He hit another shot against the bar on a quick Bayern counter, and dragged another shot wide of the post shortly after. It was Kane’s night, but it wasn’t Kane’s game.