Harry Kane Beat Kylian Mbappé by 28 Points for 2026 Ballon d'Or
Voting details released on Friday show how narrowly Harry Kane won the 2026 Ballon d'Or, with just 28 points separating him from runner-up Kylian Mbappé.
By Hushread Stories, from 8 outlets · First published 30 Oct 2026
In brief
- Harry Kane won the 2026 Ballon d'Or, with Kylian Mbappé finishing second just 28 points behind.
- The award was presented in London on Monday, four days before the voting details became public.
- The newly released breakdown covers voting by 100 jurors and reveals how close the leading contenders finished.
- The margin was among the smallest in the award's history and the narrowest under the current voting system.
- Lionel Messi's points were also disclosed, although the available reports do not supply his exact total.
Timeline · 4 moments
Margin reported as smallest under current voting system
Vg ↗Published points reveal 28-point gap between leading contenders
nu.nl ↗Details of voting by 100 jurors become public
L'Équipe ↗Harry Kane receives Ballon d'Or at London ceremony
Infobae ↗How it started
Harry Kane won the 2026 Ballon d'Or at Monday's ceremony in London, according to Infobae. Kylian Mbappé finished second, but the closeness of the result became clear only when the points were published on Friday.
ABC described months of uncertainty over the likely winner. The eventual voting breakdown showed that the competition had indeed been exceptionally tight.
How it unfolded
On October 26, Kane received the award in London. Infobae reported that the ceremony took place on the Monday before Friday's disclosure of the voting figures.
On October 30, L'Équipe reported that the details of voting by 100 jurors had been revealed, four days after Kane's victory.
The decisive figure was a 28-point gap between Kane and Mbappé. nu.nl reported that the award's organisers released the points distribution on Friday.
The breakdown also included Lionel Messi's points, according to Infobae. The supplied coverage does not give his total or exact finishing position.
Where it stands
Kane remains the winner, with the newly published figures explaining the size of his advantage rather than changing the result. ESPN FC called it one of the closest votes in the award's history.
Vg described it more specifically as the smallest winning margin since the current voting system was introduced. Those descriptions cover different historical comparisons and do not conflict.
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