MUNICH (AP) — Ballon D’Or winner Harry Kane received a guard of honor from his Bayern Munich teammates before a German Cup second-round game Wednesday.
The 33-year-old striker waved to the home crowd at Allianz Arena when he walked out. Kane stayed on the bench throughout the game in a 6-1 win over second-division Magdeburg.
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Munich's Harry Kane, right, the men's Ballon d'Or winner, and teammates Min-jae Kim, left, and Aleksandar Pavlovic warm up before the German Cup soccer game between Bayern Munich and 1. FC Magdeburg, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026, in Munich, Germany. (Sven Hoppe/dpa via AP)
Munich's Harry Kane, the men's Ballon d'Or winner, sits on the bench before the German Cup soccer game between Bayern Munich and 1. FC Magdeburg, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026, in Munich, Germany. (Tom Weller/dpa via AP)
Munich's Harry Kane, right, the men's Ballon d'Or winner, and teammates Min-jae Kim, left, and Aleksandar Pavlovic warm up before the German Cup soccer game between Bayern Munich and 1. FC Magdeburg, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026, in Munich, Germany. (Sven Hoppe/dpa via AP)
Munich's Harry Kane, center, the men's Ballon d'Or winner, waves to the fans before the German Cup soccer game between Bayern Munich and 1. FC Magdeburg, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026, in Munich, Germany. (Tom Weller/dpa via AP)
An image of England's soccer player Harry Kane, winner of the Ballon D'Or, is displayed on a large screen at Piccadilly Circus in London, Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
England's soccer player Harry Kane holds the player of the year trophy during the Ballon d'Or ceremony at the London Palladium Theatre in London, England, Monday, Oct. 26, 2026 . (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
He is set to be celebrated again by home fans before Saturday's table-topping Bundesliga clash with Borussia Dortmund, with both sides level on points.
Kane became the first English winner of the prize in 25 years as Bayern celebrated its first Ballon D’Or winner in 45 years, and the first for any player at a German club since 1996.
Kane scored 73 goals for club and country last season, when he was Europe's top scorer, and his six goals at the World Cup helped England to a third-place finish.
Kane is Bayern’s fourth Ballon D’Or winner after German greats Franz Beckenbauer, Gerd Müller and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, who won in 1981.
See AP’s full soccer coverage here
Munich's Harry Kane, the men's Ballon d'Or winner, sits on the bench before the German Cup soccer game between Bayern Munich and 1. FC Magdeburg, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026, in Munich, Germany. (Tom Weller/dpa via AP)
Munich's Harry Kane, right, the men's Ballon d'Or winner, and teammates Min-jae Kim, left, and Aleksandar Pavlovic warm up before the German Cup soccer game between Bayern Munich and 1. FC Magdeburg, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026, in Munich, Germany. (Sven Hoppe/dpa via AP)
Munich's Harry Kane, center, the men's Ballon d'Or winner, waves to the fans before the German Cup soccer game between Bayern Munich and 1. FC Magdeburg, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026, in Munich, Germany. (Tom Weller/dpa via AP)
An image of England's soccer player Harry Kane, winner of the Ballon D'Or, is displayed on a large screen at Piccadilly Circus in London, Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
England's soccer player Harry Kane holds the player of the year trophy during the Ballon d'Or ceremony at the London Palladium Theatre in London, England, Monday, Oct. 26, 2026 . (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — William Contreras became the eighth catcher voted the World Series MVP after lifting the Milwaukee Brewers to their first World Series championship.
The heart and soul of the small-market Brewers, Contreras batted .381 while guiding Milwaukee's pitching staff and capitalizing on the first Series with the Automated Ball-Strike challenge system by winning 10 of 13 appeals. He had an RBI double during Milwaukee's clinching 4-1 victory in Game 5 on Wednesday night.
“He posts every day," reliever Aaron Ashby said. "This team’s not what it is without this guy. He’s unbelievable.”
Moments after being awarded MVP, Contreras embraced his older brother, Boston Red Sox first baseman Willson Contreras, who won a World Series with the Chicago Cubs in 2016.
“My brother’s my best friend,” William Contreras said through tears.
He teared up again when asked about Venezuela, his home country. Contreras was on Venezuela’s team that won its first World Baseball Classic in March, though he was 0 for 13 with no RBIs. He draped a Venezuelan flag over his shoulders while celebrating on the field Wednesday.
He and teammates Jackson Chourio and Antonio Senzatela joined Alex Bregman and Luke Gregerson (Team USA/Houston Astros in 2017) as the only players to win the WBC and World Series in the same year.
“It means everything because that’s the first time Venezuela guys win the WBC and the World Series," he said. "It’s history, history for my country. I love Venezuela. It’s my country.”
He joins Gene Tenace (1972), Johnny Bench (1976), Steve Yeager (co-winner in 1981), Darrell Porter (1982), Rick Dempsey (1983), Pat Borders (1992) and Salvador Perez (2015) as catchers to win the award.
A three-time All-Star, the 28-year-old Contreras batted .270 with 18 homers and a career-best 94 RBIs as the Brewers won their fourth straight NL Central title.
He leveraged baseball's new robot umpire challenge system better than anyone, leading MLB with 185 challenges and 105 overturns during the regular season. He was right on 10 of 13 challenges in the World Series and 22 of 33 overall in the postseason.
He hit .444 with a pair of solo homers in the Division Series against San Diego, hitting a tiebreaking, seventh-inning drive in Game 1 and another homer in Game 3. He batted .357 with one homer and three RBIs in the Championship Series sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Milwaukee had several worthy candidates for MVP. Cooper Pratt set a Series rookie record with six straight hits and tied Gil McDougald's rookie mark from 1951 with seven RBIs, including go-ahead hits in the final three games. Jackson Chourio had 11 hits, the most by a player in a five-game World Series. Ace Jacob Misiorowski allowed just one run in 10 2/3 innings, and reliever Aaron Ashby pitched 5 2/3 scoreless innings with a save and nine strikeouts.
See AP’s full MLB coverage here
Milwaukee Brewers' William Contreras celebrates after scoring during the sixth inning of Game 5 of baseball's World Series, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026, in St. Petersburg, Fla., between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Tampa Bay Rays. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Milwaukee Brewers catcher William Contreras celebrates scoring on a sacrifice fly by Cooper Platt during the sixth inning of Game 5 of baseball's World Series, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026, in St. Petersburg, Fla., between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Tampa Bay Rays. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
Milwaukee Brewers catcher William Contreras celebrates after winning baseball's World Series, against the Tampa Bay Rays, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
