The stage was set for Harry Kane and he stepped onto it for his crowning moment.
For so long a duopoly of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, the Ballon d'Or has been opened up to the masses in recent years. The outstanding candidates for this particular edition also came with obvious caveats.
Kylian Mbappe shone individually but did not win a major trophy for club or country. Lamine Yamal had an understated World Cup after he came back from injury. Rodri only played half a season. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia was outstanding for Paris Saint-Germain but did not get the opportunity to play at the World Cup.
All that considered, Kane found himself as favourite. There was also the added draw for him of the Ballon d'Or ceremony being staged in London for the first time ever.
Victors: Harry Kane and Alexia Putellas
AFP/Getty
The Bayern Munich striker does not have the allure and excitement surrounding him of Mbappe or Yamal. Nor does he have the PR machine behind him of the Spanish clubs. With no World Cup or Champions League trophy to push his case either, he was relying on the sheer weight of his numbers.
Those numbers, to his credit, were remarkable. Kane scored 73 goals in 65 matches for Bayern and England last season.
That proved enough. It has not always been the case, but on this occasion the best player in the world last season was rightfully awarded the Ballon d'Or.
For a striker as remarkably complete as he is, Kane has repeatedly suffered frustration when glory has been within touching distance.
Across defeats in the final of two European Championships and a Champions League, Kane did not score. He managed a grand total of two shots across those three matches.
The criticism put to Kane for much of his career has been that he has not delivered on the biggest stage, that his goal tallies had not been translated into trophy hauls.
He won the Bundesliga and the German Cup last season but that point still very much remains. Had he dragged Bayern to the Champions League or England to the World Cup, the Ballon d'Or voting would surely have been a landslide.
Instead, he was quiet in the World Cup quarter-final against Norway and had no impact at all in the semi-final defeat to Argentina. That has happened too often. The one last step for him to take is delivering in those kind of matches.
Kane scored six goals at the tournament but it was Jude Bellingham who was the primary source of decisive moments in attack.
Record breaker: Harry Kane
PA
When the lights are shining brightest, Kane is yet to have that one standout match. A final or even a knockout match against elite opposition when he had stood up, scored the goals, stamped his authority on the occasion and carried his side over the line.
Goals in the Bundesliga are a given for Kane. So too the title, even if Bayern contrived not to win it in his first season at the club. Those are not how he should be judged.
Kane was a worthy winner of the Ballon d'Or but that nagging doubt over the trophy cabinet remains. It is Champions League glory or international silverware that would now complete his career.
Bayern are only the fourth favourites for the Champions League this season, behind Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal.
There is no sign of Kane slowing down but the next World Cup is a long way away. His last big chance of leading the Three Lions to an international trophy, then, could be in 2028, when England have a Euros on home soil to target.
Adding his name to the list of Ballon d'Or winners ensures Kane will go down as a great of the game.
Individual prizes, though, have never been the issue for a goalscorer of his calibre. The final years of his career must be about adding meaningful, major team honours to go with it.