Teddy Sheringham's Ballon d'Or Debate: Rodri Over Kane
Teddy Sheringham has nailed his colours to the mast in the Ballon d’Or debate – and they’re not Harry Kane’s.
The former Tottenham Hotspur striker, who knows Kane’s game as well as anyone, accepts the Bayern Munich forward has just produced a season for the ages. Sixty-one goals in all competitions. Thirty-six in 31 Bundesliga matches. A driving force behind Bayern’s second straight league title and the spearhead of an England side that battled its way to a World Cup bronze after beating France in the third-place play-off.
And yet, when pushed on who should lift football’s most prestigious individual prize, Sheringham looked elsewhere.
Sheringham’s Ballon d’Or pick: Rodri over Kane
“There’s not an obvious favorite for the Ballon d’Or,” Sheringham told Heavy Sports via BetVictor Online Casino. That much he concedes. But in his eyes, there’s a clear rule of thumb.
You win the big ones.
“I would think you have to be winning Champions Leagues, World Cups, or Euros whenever they’re about to be in that conversation,” he said.
Kane, he accepts, will be right in the mix.
“I’m sure Kane will be in the top five, no doubt about that, but I can’t see him winning it.”
Instead, Sheringham name-checked a midfielder who has quietly become the heartbeat of every side he plays in.
“I think someone like Rodri has been spoken of very highly and was exceptional again in the World Cup every time he was on the football pitch,” he said. “[Rodri] took his teams to glory as well, so he would be my pick. But Kane has definitely had a fantastic season as well, and he’s in and around it again.”
The message is blunt. Kane’s numbers are historic, his influence undeniable, but Sheringham believes trophies at the very top tilt the scales toward the Spanish metronome.
“He looks fit and strong”: Kane tipped to play into his 40s
If Sheringham stops short of handing Kane the Ballon d’Or, he has no doubts about the Bayern striker’s longevity.
Sheringham himself played until he was 42. He sees the same kind of durability in Kane.
“I can see Kane playing into his 40s,” he said. It wasn’t always such a sure thing. In Kane’s mid‑20s, those recurring ankle problems sparked real concern.
“He had a few injuries when he was around 26 or 27, when he had those ankle problems. Everyone was looking at him and wondering, ‘Has he got glass ankles?’ and whether he’d be okay in the long run,” Sheringham recalled.
That narrative has faded. Kane’s conditioning and consistency at Bayern have rewritten the script.
“But he’s obviously had them mended and looked at properly for his longevity, and he’s enjoying that now. He looks fit and strong, and long may that continue.”
For Sheringham, this is not a striker hanging on. It’s one operating at full power, with years still in the tank.
Why leave? Sheringham backs Kane to finish at Bayern
The modern superstar’s late-career roadmap often points toward Saudi Arabia or MLS. Big contracts, slower pace, a soft landing.
Sheringham doesn’t see Kane following that path.
“He’s playing his best football, scoring 60 goals in a season last year, you can’t get much better than that,” he said. At Bayern, the entire machine is geared toward feeding its No. 9.
“Everyone is focused on providing for the main striker, and that’s what it’s all about – everyone’s doing their job to let the striker finish things off. From Harry’s point of view, there’s no reason to leave. I can’t see him going to Saudi Arabia; it’s just not in his makeup. Things may change, of course.”
Right now, though, Sheringham sees a player exactly where he wants to be.
“At this moment in time, I think he likes pitting himself against the best in the world, and there’s no better place to do that than Bayern.”
So Kane stands at a curious crossroads: a season that screams Ballon d’Or, a legend of the English game arguing for someone else, and a career arc that might yet stretch into his 40s in Bavaria. The goals keep coming. The debate over his place among the game’s greats is only getting louder.
