Ballon d’Or: Harry Kane defied reader predictions as Lamine Yamal and Kylian Mbappe led the vote

Harry Kane won the Ballon d’Or despite receiving fewer predictions from Kooora readers than either Lamine Yamal or Kylian Mbappe.

Before the winner was announced, readers were invited to nominate the player they believed would claim football’s most prestigious individual award. Kooora said it would review the comments afterwards and compare the predictions with the official result.

That review showed a clear divide between the players most frequently backed by readers and the man who ultimately lifted the trophy.

Yamal and Mbappe share top spot

Lamine Yamal and Kylian Mbappe each received 30% of the clear nominations, making them the joint leaders in the reader predictions.

Yamal was supported by readers who pointed to his talent and performances, with some comments presenting the Barcelona player as the obvious choice for the award.

Mbappe attracted the same level of support, largely because of his goalscoring ability and status among the leading players in world football. Together, Yamal and Mbappe accounted for 60% of all clear selections.

Their combined total underlined the split among readers over which player was most deserving of the Ballon d’Or.

Kane, meanwhile, finished third in the predictions, with 23.3% of the clear nominations, even though he went on to win the award.

The England captain was backed by readers who felt his performances for both club and country had made him a serious contender. One participant referred to his form at club and international level, while another selected Kane despite supporting Barcelona, suggesting that footballing judgement could outweigh personal loyalties.

That result created the central contrast in the exercise: the eventual winner was not the leading choice among readers, with both Yamal and Mbappe receiving more support before the announcement.

Messi and Hakimi also receive support

Lionel Messi remained part of the discussion, collecting 13.3% of the clear nominations.

Some of the comments supporting the Argentina forward appeared to reflect admiration for him rather than a firm prediction about the outcome. One reader argued that Messi deserved the award as long as he continued playing, and even after retirement.

Another expressed confidence in Messi’s exceptional standing while offering a predicted order in which Yamal would finish first, Kane second and Mbappe third.

Achraf Hakimi was also included among the candidates, receiving 3.3% of the clear votes.

Most readers backed the wrong player

Overall, 23.3% of the readers whose comments could be clearly classified predicted that Kane would win the Ballon d’Or. The remaining 76.7% selected other players.

Although Kane featured prominently in the discussion and received almost a quarter of the nominations, most participants did not identify the eventual winner.

Kooora stressed that the figures were based only on clear comments that could be categorised as predictions. They do not represent a comprehensive poll of all the site’s readers or a measure of opinion among Arab football supporters as a whole.

The exercise showed how public expectations can differ from the final result. Yamal and Mbappe led the predictions, but Kane had the decisive final say by winning the Ballon d’Or.