{
  "id": 17395915,
  "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-17395915",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-31T12:02:51.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Punch",
    "slug": "punch",
    "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 chose Spanish midfielder Rodri as the best player in the world, despite Manchester City star Harry Kane finishing fourth overall. Voting released by France Football on Friday showed Nigeria among 10 countries placing Rodri first in their ballots; others included the United States, Guatemala, South Korea, Czech Republic, Serbia, Thailand, Vietnam, Croatia and Iceland. Rodri amassed 726 points, trailing behind Kane's 1,055 points, Kylian Mbappé's 1,027 points and Barcelona's Lamine Yamal's 881 points. Nigeria's voter also ranked PSG forward Ousmane Dembélé second in the ballot, who achieved no first-place votes from any of the 100 journalists participating in the voting. Kane won the award by 28 points ahead of Mbappé, marking the fourth-closest finish in the men's Ballon d'Or history.",
  "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": [],
  "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."
}