Sportsupdated 1h ago2 min read
Archive photo · 23 June 2026Harry Kane Beats Kylian Mbappé for 2026 Men’s Ballon d’Or by 28 Points
4 Western Mainstream2 Western Alternative1 Local Western1 OtherPhoto: Bryan Berlin / WikiPortraits, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Cropped for layout
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Kane defeated Mbappé by 28 points to win the 2026 Ballon d'Or. Kane finished with 1,055 points to Mbappé's 1,027.
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Kane wins by 28
Harry Kane beat Kylian Mbappé to the men’s Ballon d’Or by just 28 points, with organisers awarding Kane 1,055 points and Mbappé 1,027. The voting breakdown put Lamine Yamal third with 881 points, while Rodri finished fourth with 726 points and Lionel Messi ended on 612 points.
The margin was "one of the smallest winning margins in the award's history," and the men's Ballon d'Or has twice been decided by a single point. The Ballon d’Or have revealed that Kane won over Mbappé by only 28 points, calling it "one of the smallest margins in history."
First-place votes decide
France Football chief Vincent Garcia said he felt Rodri had taken votes off Yamal when it came to the final reckoning, after the final points totals were revealed. The Bayern Munich striker received 40 first-place votes, compared with 23 for Mbappé, and the stronger backing at the top was framed as the key to Kane securing the trophy.
The full 2026 Ballon d’Or voting breakdown was unveiled on Friday, revealing Kane edged Mbappé by just 28 points. France Football’s Vincent Garcia teased that the gap between him and Mbappé in second was "extremely small."
Mourinho on Mbappé
Jose Mourinho said Mbappé was dealing brilliantly with the disappointment, adding, "Kylian is very intelligent and mature. He has very high self-esteem. And at the same time, he has class."
“The way he handled the Ballon d'Or for Harry… all I saw and felt was class. And respect.”
Mourinho also said, "The way he handled the Ballon d'Or for Harry… all I saw and felt was class. And respect," before Real Madrid played Racing Santander on Sunday in La Liga.
The award is decided by votes from 100 journalists, using a weighted points system, and it described Kane as the first Englishman to win the award since Michael Owen in 2001.
The Ballon d’Or is decided by a jury of 100 journalists each from different countries, and it described the points scale as 15, 12, 10, 8, 7, 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1 point.