From SI · · 1m 40s
How Close Mbappe Yamal Came to Beating Kane in 2026 Ballon d'Or
Kane narrowly beat Mbappé and Yamal for 2026 Ballon d'Or with a tiny point gap.
In brief
Kane narrowly beat Mbappé and Yamal for 2026 Ballon d'Or with a tiny point gap. Harry Kane won the 2026 Ballon d'Or after a tight race with Kylian Mbappé and Lamine Yamal. Originally reported by SI.
2026 Ballon d'Or Results
France Football will publish detailed 2026 Ballon d'Or vote results on Saturday.
Close Race Among Top Three
The editor-in-chief said the 2026 Ballon d'Or race was closer than anyone realized.
Harry Kane Wins
Harry Kane collected the 2026 Ballon d'Or, breaking a 25-year English winner drought.
Kane's Qualifications
Kane earned the award for his goalscoring feats with Bayern Munich and England in 2025-26.
Mbappé and Yamal Contenders
Kylian Mbappé and Lamine Yamal finished second and third in the 2026 Ballon d'Or voting.
Initial Voting Trend
The jury initially backed Mbappé but Kane came back strongly to win the award.
Tiny Point Gap
The gap between Kane and Mbappé was extremely small, less than Rodri and Vinícius Jr's 2024 gap of 41 points.
2024 Voting Points
Rodri won 1,170 points in 2024, with Vinícius Jr at 1,129 and Jude Bellingham third with 917.
2025 Voting Points
Ousmane Dembélé won 1,380 points in 2025, over 300 more than Yamal's 1,080.
Voting System Change
The voting system changed in 2024 to select a top 10 with 15 points for the first choice.
Spanish Players in Voting
Six Spanish players were in the 2026 Ballon d'Or shortlist, all finishing inside the top 18.
Yamal's Spanish Voting Issue
Garcia believes Rodri split votes among Spanish players, costing Yamal points in the 2026 Ballon d'Or.
The key point
Harry Kane won the 2026 Ballon d'Or after a tight race with Kylian Mbappé and Lamine Yamal.
