Harry Kane made soccer history with his victory at the 2026 Ballon d’Or. The Bayern Munich forward edged out Kylian Mbappé in an extremely close race and brought the prestigious award back to Munich for the first time in 45 years. But ironically, it was the German vote where the Englishman failed to receive maximum support. kicker chief reporter Karlheinz Wild ranked Kane only third in his personal vote.
The voting details, which have since been released, show how differently the performances of the two top favorites were rated by international journalists. While Kane was voted first place a total of 40 times, Mbappé received 23 first-place votes.
The votes from Germany are particularly noteworthy. Although Kane had played an outstanding season with FC Bayern, the German juror ranked two other players ahead of the striker.
German Ballon d’Or juror ranks Mbappé ahead of Kane
Karlheinz Wild, chief reporter for *kicker* and the German representative in the Ballon d’Or voting, chose Kylian Mbappé for first place in his vote.
The journalist placed Rodri in second place. Harry Kane, who ultimately won the overall ranking, came in third.
Michael Olise also made it onto the German juror’s ballot. Wild ranked the French Bayern star eighth.
This vote is likely to spark some debate among Bayern fans. After all, Kane was one of the standout players of the past season and played a decisive role in the German record champions’ successes with his performances.
The fact that the German representative, of all people, ranked two other players higher is therefore remarkable, to say the least.
However, the Ballon d’Or is an individual vote in which eligible journalists cast their personal assessments.
Kane Wins Despite a Narrow Lead
The scores, which have since been released, show just how close the decision actually was.
Kane received a total of 1,055 points, edging out Mbappé by the narrowest of margins. The French superstar from Real Madrid scored 1,027 points.
The Bayern striker’s lead was thus a mere 28 points. According to the published figures, it was the fourth-smallest margin between the winner and the runner-up in the history of the Ballon d’Or.
The distribution of first-place votes is also interesting. With 40 first-place votes, Kane received significantly more top rankings than Mbappé, who was placed first by 23 journalists. Nevertheless, the overall result remained extremely close until the very end.
For FC Bayern, the outcome of the vote is a historic success regardless of the individual ballots. With Kane, a Bayern player has received this special award for the first time in 45 years.
Karlheinz Wild’s vote, however, shows that even in Germany, by no means did all jurors consider the Englishman to be the best player in the world. Especially given the close result, the individual evaluations are likely to provide plenty of fodder for discussion.