Rice Backs Kane for Ballon d'Or After Bayern's Draw with Arsenal

Harry Kane's starring role in Bayern Munich's 2-2 Champions League draw with Arsenal has reignited talk of his Ballon d'Or credentials, with even an Arsenal player singing his praises.

talkSPORT reports that Kane "really can do it all," having had a hand in both of Bayern's goals in the "pulsating" draw against Arsenal, describing his display as underlining his case for the prestigious individual award (talkSPORT).

BBC Sport frames the striker's contribution as "goal, assist... goal-kick," pointing out that his involvement went beyond just the two goals he was involved in during the clash with Arsenal (BBC Sport).

Notably, it's an Arsenal player leading the praise. The Evening Standard reports that Declan Rice believes Kane should be the "clear winner" of the Ballon d'Or, with the England captain's team-mate currently the favourite to land the award (Evening Standard). BBC Sport echoes this, saying Rice "backs his England team-mate Harry Kane to win the Ballon d'Or" following the draw with his own side (BBC Sport).

All three outlets agree on the context: Kane's eye-catching performance came in a 2-2 draw between Bayern Munich and Arsenal in the Champions League, and it's this display that has fuelled renewed discussion about his Ballon d'Or chances. The Evening Standard and BBC Sport both focus specifically on Rice's endorsement, while talkSPORT concentrates more on the quality of Kane's performance itself.

With the Ballon d'Or ceremony set to take place in London next week, according to the Evening Standard, the timing of Kane's display and the backing from a rival such as Rice adds extra weight to the conversation around who deserves to win (Evening Standard). None of the reports suggest any dissent from this view, with the general consensus across all three being that Kane did his prospects of winning the award no harm at all against Arsenal.

Written with the help of AI, using the headlines from the publishers credited above. Each point links to the original report — tap the source name to read it in full.