Harry Kane edges Kylian Mbappe in one of the closest Ballon d’Or votes

Harry Kane won the 2026 Ballon d’Or by 28 points from Kylian Mbappe, with voting details published by French newspaper L’Equipe revealing how narrowly the Bayern Munich striker beat the Real Madrid forward.

Kane received 1,055 points, while Mbappe finished on 1,027 in one of the tightest contests in the award’s history. It was the fourth-smallest gap between the winner and runner-up, surpassing the 41-point margin by which Rodri defeated Vinicius Junior in 2024.

Of the 100 journalists involved in the vote, 97 included Mbappe in their top 10. The three who left him out represented Scotland, Greece and Ukraine.

The result was particularly significant because of the closeness between Kane and Mbappe. Kane was placed first by 40 voters, compared with 23 who selected Mbappe and 13 who voted for Lamine Yamal, the Barcelona forward.

Yamal finished third with 881 points, followed by fellow Spain international Rodri on 726. Lionel Messi, captain of Inter Miami, was fifth with 612 points.

Paris Saint-Germain’s Khvicha Kvaratskhelia took sixth place with 541 points, while his team-mate Ousmane Dembele was seventh on 418. Erling Haaland, the Manchester City striker, finished eighth with 378 points.

Bayern Munich player Michael Olise was ninth with 296 points, and Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Fabian Ruiz completed the top 10 on 201 points.

Kane’s victory followed a season in which he scored 73 goals for club and country. Mbappe also enjoyed a strong campaign with Real Madrid, while Yamal continued to establish himself among the leading young players in world football.

Kvaratskhelia played a major role in Paris Saint-Germain’s Champions League triumph, while Haaland maintained his goalscoring form with Manchester City. Olise was also praised for an outstanding season with Bayern Munich.

The Ballon d’Or voting involved 100 specialist journalists, each representing one of the countries ranked in FIFA’s top 100 national-team standings.

Every journalist selected 10 players. The points system awarded 15 points for a first-place selection, followed by 12, 10, 8, 7, 5, 4, 3, 2 and one point for the remaining positions.