{
  "id": 17394159,
  "title": "Ballon d’Or: Nigeria’s voter picked Rodri over Kane",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/31/ballon-dor-nigerias-voter-picked-rodri-over-kane",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-31T11:54:51.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Punch Nigeria",
    "slug": "punch-nigeria",
    "url": "https://punchng.com/ballon-dor-nigerias-voter-picked-rodri-over-kane/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Nigeria's representative in the 2026 men's Ballon d'Or voting selected Spanish midfielder Rodri as the world's best player, despite Manchester City star Harry Kane finishing fourth in the overall standings. The voting results, released by France Football, revealed that Nigeria was among 10 countries whose journalists voted Rodri first in their ballots. The other countries that voted for Rodri first were the United States, Guatemala, South Korea, Czech Republic, Serbia, Thailand, Vietnam, Croatia, and Iceland. Rodri secured 726 points, while Kane won the award with 1,055 points, followed by Kylian Mbappé with 1,027 points and Barcelona's Lamine Yamal with 881 points. Nigeria's voter also ranked PSG forward Ousmane Dembélé second in the ballot. Kane edged out Mbappé by fewer than 41 points to claim the Ballon d'Or. Dembélé, who won the 2025 men's Ballon d'Or, finished seventh in the 2026 edition and received no first-place votes from any of the 100 journalists involved in the voting.",
  "summary": "Nigeria’s representative in the 2026 men’s Ballon d’Or voting ranked Manchester City’s Rodri as the best player, ahead of the eventual winner Harry Kane. Read More: https://punchng.com/ballon-dor-nigerias-voter-picked-rodri-over-kane/",
  "key_points": [
    "Nigeria's voter selected Rodri as Ballon d'Or winner over Kane",
    "Rodri received 726 points, Kane got 1,055 points",
    "Ousmane Dembélé ranked second by Nigeria's voter"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Daily Post Nigeria",
        "title": "2026 Ballon d'Or: Players who Nigeria voted to win award revealed",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/31/2026-ballon-dor-players-who-nigeria-voted-to-win-award-revealed",
        "published": "2026-10-31T12:19:45.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}