Harry Kane takes first Ballon d’Or as Mbappe and Yamal finish behind him

Harry Kane has won the 2026 Ballon d’Or, claiming the award for the first time in his career at a ceremony in London on Monday evening.

The Bayern Munich and England striker finished ahead of Real Madrid forward Kylian Mbappe, who was second, and Barcelona youngster Lamine Yamal, who took third place.

For the fifth time in the history of the award, voting was based on performances during the football season rather than the calendar year. Achievements between 3 August 2025 and 19 July 2026 were considered.

France Football, which organises the Ballon d’Or, announced the final rankings from 29th to first:

| Position | Player | Club | National team | ||||| | 29 | Sadio Mane | Al Nassr | Senegal | | 29 | William Saliba | Arsenal | France | | 28 | Julian Quinones | Al-Qadsiah | Mexico | | 27 | Bruno Fernandes | Manchester United | Portugal | | 26 | Dayot Upamecano | Bayern Munich | France | | 25 | Marquinhos | Paris Saint-Germain | Brazil | | 24 | Luis Diaz | Bayern Munich | Colombia | | 23 | Nuno Mendes | Paris Saint-Germain | Portugal | | 22 | Lautaro Martinez | Inter Milan | Argentina | | 21 | Gabriel | Arsenal | Brazil | | 20 | Willian Pacho | Paris Saint-Germain | Ecuador | | 19 | Joao Neves | Paris Saint-Germain | Portugal | | 18 | Marc Cucurella | Real Madrid | Spain | | 17 | Vinicius Junior | Real Madrid | Brazil | | 16 | Ferran Torres | Barcelona – Paris Saint-Germain | Spain | | 15 | Declan Rice | Arsenal | England | | 14 | Vitinha | Paris Saint-Germain | Portugal | | 13 | Achraf Hakimi | Paris Saint-Germain | Morocco | | 12 | Pau Cubarsi | Barcelona | Spain | | 11 | Jude Bellingham | Real Madrid | England | | 10 | Fabian Ruiz | Paris Saint-Germain | Spain | | 9 | Michael Olise | Bayern Munich | France | | 8 | Erling Haaland | Manchester City | Norway | | 7 | Ousmane Dembele | Paris Saint-Germain | France | | 6 | Khvicha Kvaratskhelia | Paris Saint-Germain | Georgia | | 5 | Lionel Messi | Inter Miami | Argentina | | 4 | Rodri | Manchester City – Barcelona | Spain | | 3 | Lamine Yamal | Barcelona | Spain | | 2 | Kylian Mbappe | Real Madrid | France | | 1 | Harry Kane | Bayern Munich | England |

Kane’s victory completes the top three ahead of two of Europe’s leading attacking players, with Mbappe and Yamal occupying the remaining podium places.

Lionel Messi was fifth in the final standings, while Manchester City’s Erling Haaland finished eighth. Paris Saint-Germain had four players in the top 10: Fabian Ruiz, Ousmane Dembele, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Vitinha.