Teddy Sheringham Chooses Rodri Over Kane for Ballon d'Or
Teddy Sheringham knows exactly what it takes to live at the top of the game. Which is why his verdict on this year’s Ballon d’Or race cuts through the noise – and it doesn’t put Harry Kane on the podium’s top step.
Despite Kane’s outrageous numbers for FC Bayern Munich, Sheringham believes another name should be etched on the golden ball: Rodri.
Sheringham backs Rodri over Kane for Ballon d’Or
Kane, 33, has just delivered one of the most devastating goalscoring seasons of his career. Sixty-one goals in all competitions for Bayern. Thirty-six of them in just 31 Bundesliga matches as he drove the club to a second straight league title. He turned Bayern into a machine again and made England look like genuine contenders on the world stage.
At the World Cup, England didn’t quite go the distance. They missed the final but still left with a bronze medal after beating France in the third-place play-off. Kane was central to that run, just as he was to everything Bayern did.
Yet Sheringham still looks elsewhere when the Ballon d’Or comes up.
“There’s not an obvious favorite for the Ballon d’Or, but I would think you have to be winning Champions Leagues, World Cups, or Euros whenever they’re about to be in that conversation. I’m sure Kane will be in the top five, no doubt about that, but I can’t see him winning it,” Sheringham told Heavy Sports via BetVictor Online Casino.
Then came the key line.
“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.”
For Sheringham, it’s not just about performances. It’s about medals.
“[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 numbers say Kane. The trophies, in Sheringham’s eyes, say Rodri.
“I can see Kane playing into his 40s”
Sheringham’s respect for Kane is obvious. He just channels it in a different direction – longevity.
The former Tottenham Hotspur forward, who famously played on until 42, sees the same kind of durability in England’s captain.
“I can see Kane playing into his 40s,” he said. It’s not a throwaway line from someone who retired early. Sheringham lived that late-career grind.
He recalled the period when Kane’s future looked far less certain.
“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 said.
Those doubts have faded. Kane’s body of work – and simply his body – look stronger than ever.
“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.”
From a man who stretched his own career into his 40s, that’s not empty praise. It’s a projection.
Why leave Bayern?
There’s another point where Sheringham is crystal clear: Kane doesn’t need a late-career detour.
While many stars are tempted by the money and slower pace of Saudi Arabia or MLS in their mid-30s, Sheringham doesn’t see Kane following that script. Not yet. Maybe not ever.
“He’s playing his best football, scoring 60 goals in a season last year, you can’t get much better than that,” Sheringham said. At Bayern, everything is built around Kane’s strengths.
“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 should 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 Sheringham’s stance is sharp and unapologetic. Rodri, not Kane, for the Ballon d’Or. Kane, not Saudi or MLS, for the long haul. The only real question left is whether football’s biggest individual prize will follow the trophies, or the goals.
