Matthäus says Ballon d'Or win could keep Harry Kane at Bayern Munich

Harry Kane's Ballon d'Or victory could be the deciding factor in keeping him at Bayern Munich, according to German football great Lothar Matthäus, who said on Wednesday that he expects the England captain to commit to the club for several more seasons.

Kane, 33, collected the award on Monday, becoming the first Englishman to be named the world's best player since Michael Owen in 2001. The striker is currently in talks with the German champions over a new contract.

Speaking at an online media roundtable, Matthäus, who won the Ballon d'Or himself in 1990 after captaining Germany to World Cup glory, said the timing was ideal. "It is a good moment to sign (a new deal) for Bayern. Bayern helped him get this Ballon d'Or," he said.

The former midfielder also joked about how times have changed. "I think he gets a bonus (for winning the Ballon d'Or); 36 years ago I got nothing," he said, before adding that the decision was about more than money.

Matthäus described the bond between player and club as "perfect", and predicted that Kane would put pen to paper on a deal covering "the next two, three years". He also praised the striker as an international ambassador for the game and said Kane had found his peace in Munich, with the right teammates around him.

Kane's case for the award was hard to argue with. Last season he scored 61 goals in 51 appearances across all competitions, helping Bayern win both the Bundesliga and the German Cup. He then took England to the semi-finals of the World Cup, scoring six times at the tournament.

The forward left his boyhood club Tottenham Hotspur for Bayern in 2023 in a move worth around 100 million euros (about $111 million), largely in pursuit of the trophies that had eluded him in north London. He has since lifted the German league title twice.

For the many football fans across the Gulf who follow the Bundesliga and the England national team, Kane's win marks a rare moment: an English player at the very top of the individual honours list after a gap of a quarter of a century.

There is little time to celebrate. Bayern, who sit top of the Bundesliga table, face Magdeburg on Wednesday in the second round of the German Cup as they begin the defence of their domestic double.