Key Takeaways
- France Football editor Vincent Garcia said Harry Kane beat Kylian Mbappé to the 2026 Ballon d’Or by fewer than 41 points.
- Kane scored 73 goals in 65 appearances for Bayern Munich and England, and helped Bayern win the Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal.
- The full voting figures are expected on Saturday, when the exact points gap between Kane and second-placed Mbappé will become known.
Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane beat Kylian Mbappé to the 2026 Ballon d’Or by fewer than the 41 points that separated Rodri and Vinícius Júnior in 2024, France Football editor Vincent Garcia has revealed.
Garcia disclosed the details after Kane received the award at a ceremony at the London Palladium on Monday evening, October 26. The full voting figures are expected to be published on Saturday.
Speaking to French newspaper L’Équipe, Garcia said Mbappé had led the race for much of the voting period before Kane mounted a late challenge to claim the prestigious individual honour.
“The points gap between Kane and Mbappé was smaller than the gap between Rodri and Vinícius Júnior in 2024, which was 41 points, and that was already a very narrow margin at the time,” Garcia said.
“Kylian led the race for a long time, but Harry Kane came back into contention, and in the end, it was decided by a very, very small number of points.”
The disclosure suggests that Kane and Mbappé were separated by a handful of points, although the exact margin will not be known until the complete results are released.
