Kane beats Mbappe in Ballon d’Or’s closest-ever vote, says France Football editor

Harry Kane won the 2026 Ballon d’Or by the narrowest margin in the award’s history, despite Kylian Mbappe leading the voting for several weeks, according to France Football editor Vincent Garcia.

The England striker claimed the prize after an outstanding season in which he helped Bayern Munich win the Bundesliga and produced notable performances at both the World Cup and in the Champions League. Kane prevailed in a closely fought contest that also included Mbappe and Lamine Yamal.

Mbappe led for weeks

Garcia said the result represented an unprecedentedly close finish, with the gap between Kane and Mbappe even smaller than the 41-point margin between Rodri and Vinicius in 2024.

“The competition between Kane and Mbappe was extremely intense and nerve-racking,” Garcia said. “The difference between them was even smaller than the gap between Rodri and Vinicius in 2024, which was considered very narrow at the time.”

Speaking in comments reported by Spanish newspaper AS, Garcia revealed that Mbappe had been ahead for much of the voting process.

“Mbappe led for a very long time. He was top for weeks, but Kane settled it in the end,” he said. “Mbappe had an exceptional season by every measure, and the battle for first place this year was the fiercest ever between Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappe.”

Why Spain’s World Cup winners missed out

Garcia also explained why Spain’s World Cup-winning squad failed to produce a leading individual contender, saying the outcome was not simply a matter of bad luck.

“I believe there was a clear split in the votes between Rodri and Lamine Yamal among the Spain team that won the World Cup,” he said. “I think Rodri received votes that would have gone to Lamine in this election.”

“There was a difference and a division between the players in the team. More importantly, Spain stood out as a complete unit, as one collective. That made it impossible to choose one individual performance above the others. Their victory was primarily collective rather than based on individual brilliance.”

Garcia criticises Paris Saint-Germain campaign

Garcia also criticised Paris Saint-Germain’s approach to the Ballon d’Or campaign, despite the club winning the Champions League. He said the French side had missed a significant opportunity through poor planning and should have backed Ousmane Dembele as its sole candidate.

“Unlike Real Madrid, which strongly supported Mbappe, the campaigns of other teams in the Ballon d’Or race were very weak, such as Paris Saint-Germain,” Garcia said. “I believe they should have supported Ousmane Dembele as the only candidate.”

“These players are European champions, yet Khvicha Kvaratskhelia finished sixth, Dembele seventh and Fabian Ruiz 10th,” he added. “I do not think Paris Saint-Germain’s communication was completely clear. At first they tried to promote three players, then two. They should have supported just one candidate, and it should have been Ousmane Dembele.”