Ballon d’Or 2026: Organisers reveal narrow vote margin Kane had over Mbappé

Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane narrowly defeated Kylian Mbappé in the voting for the 2026 Ballon d’Or, with the margin being less than the 41 points that separated Rodri and Vinícius Júnior in the 2024 awards.

Vincent Garcia, editor of France Football, revealed this detail following the award ceremony held in London on Monday. During an interview with L’Équipe after the event at the London Palladium, Garcia noted that the competition between Kane and Mbappé was marked by an exceptionally tight point differential.

France Football is set to release the complete voting results on Saturday.

Garcia stated, “The points gap between Kane and Mbappé was smaller than the gap between Rodri and Vinícius Júnior in 2024, which was 41 points, and that was already a very narrow margin at the time. Kylian led the race for a long time, but Harry Kane came back into contention, and in the end, it was decided by a very, very small number of points.”

Kane, who is 33 years old, secured the Ballon d’Or for the first time, following a remarkable 73-goal season across 65 appearances for Bayern Munich and the England national team. Bayern Munich won both the Bundesliga and the DFB-Pokal in the previous season.

In addition to his club success, Kane scored six goals during the 2026 World Cup, contributing to England’s third-place finish. He is the first English player to win the Ballon d’Or since Michael Owen in 2001.

Mbappé, who finished second, achieved his best position in the Ballon d’Or voting to date, while Lamine Yamal took third place. The Real Madrid forward topped the scoring charts in La Liga with 25 goals, in the UEFA Champions League with 15 goals, and in the World Cup with 10 goals.

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