Ballon d'Or: Countries that voted for Harry Kane revealed

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In a historic moment, Harry Kane of Bayern Munich has claimed the prestigious Ballon d'Or award, becoming the first English recipient since 2001. The French publication France Football disclosed that Kane narrowly defeated Kylian Mbappe by the smallest margin in the award's voting history, a difference of just 28 points.

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Kane's triumph marked a significant milestone, as he became the first Englishman to secure the title since Michael Owen in 2001. The magazine published a detailed breakdown of the votes in its Friday edition, revealing that out of 100 jurors, Kane received 40 first-place votes. Accumulating a total of 1,055 points, Kane secured his victory over Mbappe, who placed first 23 times and garnered 1,027 points.

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The previous smallest margin between two nominees was 41 points, which occurred when Manchester City's Rodri edged out Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior by that margin in 2024. Last season, Paris Saint-Germain's Ousmane Dembele led the charge with 1,380 points, 321 points ahead of his Barcelona teammate Lamine Yamal. In a remarkable turn of events, Yamal won the World Cup with Spain last summer, but he finished third in the voting with 881 points, 174 points behind Kane.

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The Ballon d'Or is awarded through a vote by journalists, with one representative per country, representing the top 100 nations in FIFA's men rankings and the top 50 for women. This voting system underscores the global recognition and admiration bestowed upon the most outstanding footballers each year.