Kane beat Mbappe to Ballon d'Or by just 28 points
Voting figures show Harry Kane beat second-placed Kylian Mbappe to the men's Ballon d'Or by one of the tightest winning margins in the award's history.
Harry Kane edged out Kylian Mbappe in the men's Ballon d'Or award by a mere 28-point difference. The England captain claimed 1,055 points, while the Real Madrid star secured 1,027. This marks one of the smallest winning margins in the award's history, with the last instance dating back to Lionel Messi's victory over Virgil van Dijk by just seven points in 2019.
The Ballon d'Or has been decided by a single-point margin twice before, in 1966 when Bobby Charlton dethroned Eusebio and in 1996 when Matthias Sammer narrowly beat Ronaldo. In this year's contest, Kane's triumph came after a stellar season, netting 73 goals in 65 games for Bayern Munich. The award is determined by votes from 100 journalists using a weighted scoring system. The top ten contenders for the 2026 men's Ballon d'Or are yet to be announced.
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- ‘It will change the way people see me and value my career’ – Harry Kane on the impact of winning the Ballon d’Or sports.yahoo.com
- 2026 Ballon d'Or: Official voting numbers revealed after Kane beat Mbappe to award dailypost.ng
- Kane beat Mbappe to Ballon d'Or by just 28 points bbc.co.uk
- Ballon d’Or winner Harry Kane and the Irish team of England players that never was irishtimes.com
