Toni Kroos: Kane deserves Ballon d'Or, but Kvaratskhelia was my pick

Toni Kroos believes Harry Kane is a deserving Ballon d'Or winner, though he would have chosen Khvicha Kvaratskhelia based on club season performance alone. Kroos called this year's race "more open than ever" due to the World Cup's significant influence. Kvaratskhelia won a treble with Paris Saint-Germain, including a decisive Champions League semifinal performance against Bayern Munich. However, Georgia's failure to qualify for the World Cup left him "without a chance," according to Kroos, who noted the Georgian still finished sixth. Kroos argued that Kylian Mbappé and Lamine Yamal would not have made the top five without their World Cup impacts, while Kane uniquely "started no campaign" beforehand. Yamal won the tournament with Spain, while Kane and Mbappé met in the third-place match.