Kane overturned weeks-long Mbappe lead to win 2026 Ballon d’Or

Harry Kane won the 2026 Ballon d’Or after edging Kylian Mbappe by the smallest margin in the history of the award, according to France Football editor-in-chief Vincent Garcia.

Mbappe led the voting for several weeks before Kane moved ahead at the final stage, in a contest Garcia described as the fiercest ever for first place.

Kane was rewarded after an outstanding season in which he helped Bayern Munich win the Bundesliga and impressed at both the World Cup and in the Champions League. The England forward faced strong competition from Mbappe and Lamine Yamal.

“The competition between Kane and Mbappe was extremely close and nerve-racking,” Garcia said.

“The gap between them was even smaller than the difference between Rodri and Vinicius in 2024, which was 41 points and was considered very narrow at the time.”

Speaking in comments reported by Spanish publication AS, Garcia added: “Mbappe was ahead for a very long time in the voting process. He was leading for weeks, but Kane settled it in the end.

“Mbappe had an exceptional season by every measure, and the battle for first place this year was the fiercest ever between Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappe.”

Why Spain’s World Cup winners fell short

Garcia also explained why Spain’s World Cup triumph did not translate into a stronger result for their leading players in the voting.

He said the votes were divided between Rodri and Lamine Yamal, with some support that might otherwise have gone to Yamal being awarded to Rodri.

“I believe there was clear fragmentation in the votes within the Spain team that won the World Cup, between Rodri and Lamine Yamal,” Garcia said.

“I think Rodri received votes that would have gone to Lamine in this election.

“There was a disparity and division among the players in the team. More importantly, Spain stood out as a complete unit, as one collective. For that reason, it was impossible to choose one individual performance above the rest. Their victory was primarily collective rather than based on one player’s individual brilliance.”

Garcia criticises Paris St-Germain campaign

Garcia also criticised Paris St-Germain for failing to build a stronger Ballon d’Or campaign after winning the Champions League.

He contrasted the club’s approach with Real Madrid’s support for Mbappe and argued that Paris St-Germain should have presented Ousmane Dembele as their sole candidate.

“Unlike Real Madrid, which strongly supported Mbappe, the campaigns run by other teams in the Ballon d’Or race were very weak, such as Paris St-Germain,” Garcia said.

“I believe they should have supported Ousmane Dembele as their only candidate.

“These players are European champions, yet Khvicha Kvaratskhelia finished sixth, Dembele seventh and Fabian Ruiz 10th.

“I do not think Paris St-Germain’s communication was entirely clear. They initially tried to promote three players and then two. They should have supported only one candidate, and it should have been Ousmane Dembele.”