Gently planting a kiss on the Ballon d’Or trophy, Harry Kane proudly lifted the shiny silverware into the air with a look of disbelief on his face.

The cameras flashed, the “home” crowd erupted in thunderous applause, and an unassuming winner basked in his moment of glory.

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Hundreds of England fans had lined up outside the London Palladium for this moment, while millions more across the country had waited for it with bated breath. It was a day 25 years in the making.

For Kane, it was an achievement beyond belief and a victory too bold to dream of.

Monday’s hometown glory was Kane’s crowning moment – a testament to his remarkable talent and sheer consistency.

He was never the superstar – far from it. For years, he struggled for game time. Loaned from one club to another. Not a teenage prodigy. Not one to watch out for.

But that never deterred the boy from Leytonstone, who, year after year, put in the hard work and silenced the outside noise. Now, at 33 years old, when many of his peers are past their prime, Kane is peaking at the perfect time.

Often mocked for not winning trophies, Kane – it seemed – was busy making space for the ultimate prize: the Ballon d’Or – football’s most prestigious individual honour.

“Not many people would have thought it, and maybe even I wouldn’t have thought I’d be this far,” Kane told DAZN.

“I had to go through many ups and downs, especially early in my career. I was never the person that people thought was going to be the superstar like some of the guys now,” he added.

“I had to bide my time and work hard; a lot of times it was me against my own mind, and I had to come through it. I had to show self-belief, determination. I think that grounded me, even when I did make it at the highest level, to keep improving and keep getting better.”

‘Runt of the litter’

Hardships have been a constant in Kane’s career, right from his early days in football.

At eight years old, Kane joined the Arsenal academy. But that didn’t last long. Labelled “a bit chubby” and “not very athletic” by then academy director Liam Brady, the forward was released after just one season.

It was a move that baffled veteran French manager Arsene Wenger – who managed Arsenal for more than two decades – when he discovered the news years later.

By 13, Kane was on the development programme at Tottenham Hotspur. Academy director John McDermott described him as the “runt of the litter”, saying Kane was heavily lagging behind his peers.

“He was not fast. He was the runt of the litter – 30 percent down on the rest of the group!” McDermott said in a 2016 interview with Goal.

It took Tottenham a bit of convincing before Kane got his shot at senior football in 2009. But that wasn’t very smooth sailing either. Kane endured loan spells across the English football pyramid, including Leyton Orient, Millwall, Leicester City, and Norwich City.

There were almost two years between Kane’s first Spurs goal, against Shamrock Rovers in 2011, and his next, against Hull City in 2013.

Even after his breakthrough season in 2014-15, Kane was dubbed a “one-season wonder”.

‘Most famous trophyless player’

An incredible 19-year spell at Spurs shaped Kane into the player he is today.

During his 14 senior seasons at the North London club, Kane ticked off records that once seemed unbelievable to his younger self – three Premier League Golden Boots, six PFA Premier League Team of the Year nominations, and a club-record 280 goals in more than 430 appearances in all competitions.

But for all his individual brilliance and long-lasting impact, Kane walked away with no major trophies.

He was on the losing side for Spurs in the 2019 Champions League final against Liverpool and was in English teams that twice lost the European Championship final.

For most of his career, the football world saw him as the most famous player never to win a trophy.

Kane waited until he was 31 years old to lift his first silverware – the 2024-25 Bundesliga title with Bayern Munich.

Since then, the England international has added four more club trophies, including another German top-flight title and the German Cup.

Kane let his football do the talking

Kane’s trophy collection does not do justice to his individual brilliance.

A lethal striker in all senses, he is England’s record scorer with 91, the highest-scoring English player in the Champions League (58) and the second-highest scorer in the Premier League (213).

Last month, he also became the fastest player to reach 100 Bundesliga goals, hitting the landmark on his 98th league appearance for Bayern.

Kane’s sublime finishing is not his only talent. Honing an instinct he first developed as a youth team player, Kane has also blossomed into a gifted playmaker.

“I feel like I’ve always had the passing range and the vision and the football brain – the game understanding – throughout my whole career, and I think that’s just flourished these last couple of years,” he told UEFA.com.

It would be safe to say Kane, arguably the best English player of his generation, is improving with age.

His staggering 73 goals across club and country last season were the most by a footballer since Lionel Messi’s haul of 82 in 2011-12.

Unlike Kylian Mbappe and Lamine Yamal, who both won the World Cup as teenagers, Kane did not appear destined for greatness. But on Monday, he proved the doubters wrong, ending England’s 25-year wait for a Ballon d’Or winner.

He didn’t need a mega publicity campaign like Yamal or Mbappe, who dominated headlines in the build-up to the award ceremony. Kane let his football do the talking.

It is little wonder, then, that Kane has been posting nonstop on his social media accounts the morning after his Ballon d’Or triumph. He simply can’t get enough of it.

After all, the young boy whom no one believed in is today standing tall as the world’s best footballer.