Harry Kane overwhelmed by Virat Kohli's message after Ballon d’Or well-wishing

English striker Harry Kane mentioned Indian cricketer Virat Kohli as one of his biggest well-wishers who messaged him after his recent Ballon d’Or success. The 33-year-old said Kohli was one of the sports persons who left him overwhelmed after receiving a congratulatory message from the cricketer after his award.

Kane met with the press on Tuesday before his German club side FC Bayern’s Champions League encounter with Atletico Madrid. Responding to a question from the BBC about the congratulatory messages he received, Kane said, “I had a lot of people I look up to messaged me. People like David Beckham, who was a big idol of mine, Tom Brady, Virat Kohli - a lot of sports people I really admire.”

“I maybe underestimated how many people wanted this for me as well. It's fine wanting it for yourself. Your friends and your family want it, but the outpour from social media and people texting me who didn't even have my number, wanted my number to reach out - that was really overwhelming. It made me realise it was a really big deal and there were a lot of people happy for me. Of course, really grateful to everyone,” added the Bavarian striker.

Elite in their own sport, Virat Kohli and Harry Kane have had a hearty rapport in the public sphere. The Three Lions skipper had previously posted their picture together, after Kohli’s first Indian Premier League (IPL) triumph with Royal Challengers Bengaluru in June 2025.

Kohli on his X handle posted, “You deserve every bit of this award for your resilience, hard work and honesty with which you’ve carried yourself through all these years playing football at the top,” praising the Englishman for his achievement.

Kane played for Bayern later, beating Atletico Madrid 0-2 in their Champions League fixture.