Harry Kane won the 2026 Ballon d’Or, securing a historic triumph for FC Bayern. But apparently, the race for the Golden Ball was much closer than initially thought. As Vincent Garcia, editor-in-chief of France Football, revealed, the English national team player prevailed over Kylian Mbappé by an extremely narrow margin.
At the awards ceremony on Monday evening in London, Kane was named the world’s best soccer player. The 33-year-old relegated Real Madrid star Mbappé to second place. Third place went to Lamine Yamal of FC Barcelona.
For the Bayern striker, it was the crowning achievement of an extraordinary season. However, the outcome could apparently have been different, as the margin between the top two finishers was remarkably small.
Garcia reveals: Kane wins by a hair’s breadth
According to France Football editor-in-chief Vincent Garcia, the point difference between Kane and Mbappé was “very small.” Particularly interesting: The margin is said to have been even smaller than in the controversial 2024 Ballon d’Or vote: “This year, there were several serious contenders. The two closest competitors were the top two finishers, Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappé, and the race between them was decided by a very narrow margin. In the battle for first place, it was incredibly close between Kane and Mbappé this year.”
According to Garcia, the point gap between Kane and Mbappé was smaller than the gap between Rodri and Vinícius Júnior in 2024. Back then, Rodri of Manchester City had edged out Vinícius Júnior of Real Madrid with 1,170 points. The Brazilian finished with 1,129 points. The gap between the two players was thus just 41 points.
However, Garcia did not want to reveal the exact point difference.
This confirms that the Bayern star had only a narrow lead in the voting.
How the Ballon d’Or voting works
Unlike many other awards, the Ballon d’Or winner is not decided by fans, but by an international jury of sports journalists. In the men’s category, journalists from the top 100 nations in the FIFA World Rankings are eligible to vote.
Each juror compiles a personal ranking of ten players from among the 30 nominees. Fifteen points are awarded for first place, twelve for second, and ten for third.
This is followed by eight, seven, five, four, three, two, and one point for the remaining positions through tenth place.
With 100 journalists eligible to vote, a player can theoretically earn a maximum of 1,500 points.
The narrow margin between Kane and Mbappé shows just how competitive this year’s vote was.
For FC Bayern, the close result ultimately doesn’t matter. After 45 years, the Golden Ball is returning to Munich for the first time. Kane is also the first Bundesliga player since Matthias Sammer in 1996 to win the prestigious award.
The fact that it apparently came down to just a few points makes the Englishman’s historic triumph all the more remarkable.