Kane Edges Mbappé by 28 Points to Win 2026 Ballon d'Or

Overview

• France Football published full vote totals on Oct. 30 confirming Harry Kane won with 1,055 points and Kylian Mbappé finished second with 1,027, a margin of 28 points.
• Kane received first‑place votes from 40 of the 100 jurors while Mbappé was placed first by 23 jurors and Lamine Yamal finished third with 881 points.
• The detailed count shows Mbappé led for much of the tabulation before Kane overtook him in the last ballots returned.
• Individual country ballots exposed notable choices: Portugal’s juror António Tadeia put Lamine Yamal first, Brazil’s Cleber Machado put Lionel Messi first, Vitinha was the top Portuguese in 14th and Vinícius Jr. was the highest‑ranked Brazilian in 17th.
• The voting used 100 national journalists with a 15‑12‑10‑8‑7‑5‑4‑3‑2‑1 points scale, and this unusually close, fully disclosed result highlights how national juror preferences can swing the outcome and may prompt renewed scrutiny of the Ballon d'Or voting process.