In a tightly contested race for the Ballon d’Or 2026, Harry Kane emerged victorious over Kylian Mbappe by a mere 27 points, according to the voting results released by France Football. Kane, representing Bayern Munich, accumulated a total of 1,055 points, while Mbappe of Real Madrid finished with 1,028 points, marking his best finish in the prestigious award’s history.
Vincent Garcia, editor-in-chief of France Football, commented on the close results, stating, “It was even tighter than the contest between Rodri and Vinicius Junior,” referring to last year’s award where Rodri won by a margin of 41 points. Garcia emphasized that this year featured several serious contenders, making the race particularly competitive.
Final Voting Results
The top players in the Ballon d’Or 2026 rankings were as follows:
- 1. Harry Kane (Bayern Munich / England) – 1,055 points
- 2. Kylian Mbappe (Real Madrid / France) – 1,028 points
- 3. Lamine Yamal (Barcelona / Spain) – 881 points
- 4. Rodri (Barcelona / Spain) – 726 points
- 5. Lionel Messi (Inter Miami / Argentina) – 612 points
- 6. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (PSG / Georgia) – 541 points
- 7. Ousmane Dembele (PSG / France) – 418 points
- 8. Erling Haaland (Manchester City / Norway) – 378 points
- 9. Michael Olise (Bayern Munich / France) – 296 points
- 10. Fabian Ruiz (PSG / Spain) – 201 points
This narrow victory is not the closest in the history of the Ballon d’Or, however. Notable instances include Matthias Sammer’s win over Brazilian Ronaldo in 1996 by just one point and Bobby Charlton’s victory over Eusébio in 1966, also by one point.
