Kane beat Mbappe to Ballon d’Or by just 28 points

Harry Kane edged out Kylian Mbappe to win the men's Ballon d'Or award by a slim margin of 28 points, marking one of the smallest winning margins in the award's history. The voting results, released on Saturday, showed that Kane received 1,055 points, while Mbappe garnered 1,027 points. This victory makes Kane the first Englishman to claim the award since Michael Owen in 2001.

Mbappe secured his best-ever finish in the competition, outpacing Spain's Lamine Yamal, who placed third with 881 points. The men's Ballon d'Or has only been decided by a single-point difference twice before: in 1966, when England's Bobby Charlton narrowly beat Portugal's Eusebio, and in 1996, when Germany's Matthias Sammer narrowly defeated Brazil's Ronaldo.

Mbappe could draw inspiration from Ronaldo's experience, as the renowned forward went on to win the award again in 1997 and 2002. Kane secured the prestigious prize after scoring 73 goals in 65 matches during the previous season, contributing to Bayern Munich's league and cup double and leading England to a third-place finish at the World Cup. The award is determined by 100 journalists using a weighted points system.