Ballon d’Or vote leaves Mbappe frustrated as PSG stay away in London

Kylian Mbappe finished runner-up to Harry Kane in the Ballon d’Or, despite recording the best result of his career in the award, as the outcome prompted widespread anger in France.

The Real Madrid forward travelled to London convinced he had a strong chance of winning the prestigious prize, with the contest remaining closely fought until the final stages.

Vincent Garcia, editor-in-chief of France Football, told L’Equipe: “The voting was extremely close, even closer than the vote between Rodri and Vinicius.”

Kane eventually won by only 41 points from Vinicius, leaving France captain Mbappe narrowly short of being named the world’s best player.

His improved ranking and a record-breaking 10th consecutive appearance among the 30 Ballon d’Or finalists were not enough to secure the award.

Mbappe still waiting for top prize

When Mbappe first emerged at Monaco as a 16-year-old, he was widely viewed in France as the likely successor to Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

However, the Real Madrid striker has yet to win the Ballon d’Or at the age of 27, although he turns 28 in December. Before this year, his highest position had been third in 2023, behind Erling Haaland, who was expected to challenge him for football’s leading individual honour for the next decade.

The rise of Lamine Yamal, Ousmane Dembele’s outstanding form for Paris Saint-Germain and Harry Kane’s continued ambition have all complicated Mbappe’s hopes.

He has now gone a decade without experiencing what it means to be selected as the world’s best player. His last two seasons without major trophies played a significant part in the final vote.

Mbappe was the leading scorer at the World Cup, surpassing Messi’s record, as well as finishing top scorer in La Liga and the UEFA Champions League. But his lack of major honours ultimately prevented him from overtaking Kane.

He embraced Kane before the Bayern Munich forward went on stage to deliver an emotional speech. Mbappe then returned to Madrid without the main prize, carrying mixed feelings of happiness and disappointment.

His individual record remains exceptional. Mbappe is the only French player in history to have been nominated for the Ballon d’Or 10 times in succession, and at 22 he matched Messi and Ronaldo as the youngest player to finish in the world’s top 10 on four occasions.

PSG absence noticed

Ousmane Dembele, the previous Ballon d’Or winner, was the only Paris Saint-Germain player present at the London ceremony on behalf of the club.

PSG were playing a rearranged Ligue 1 fixture against Olympique Lyonnais at the same time. Despite having a record 10 players among the 30 nominees, no senior club official travelled to the English capital.

Paris Saint-Germain were named the world’s best club for a second successive year, with Dembele collecting the award. The 2025 winner finished seventh in the individual vote and sat beside Mbappe and Michael Olise to watch the final results.

Club president Nasser Al-Khelaifi, whose absence was announced hours before the ceremony, and sporting director Luis Campos instead attended the match at Parc des Princes.

After PSG’s 2-0 victory, manager Luis Enrique said: “Did we win the award for the best team in the world? Congratulations to all the fans!”

Enrique did not win the best coach award, which went to fellow Spaniard Luis de la Fuente after his World Cup success with Spain. Days earlier, Enrique had said he was not interested in the awards and predicted the Ballon d’Or would go to a PSG player.