Kylian Mbappe led Ballon d'Or rankings until the final stretch - and Harry Kane pipped him for TWO reasons: report

Kylian Mbappe centre-forward of Real Madrid and France attends the 70th Ballon D'Or Ceremony at Palladium Theatre on October 26, 2026 in London, England. — Kylian Mbappe only just missed out (Image credit: Jose Breton/Pics Action/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Harry Kane's Ballon d'Or win over Kylian Mbappe was closer than anyone thinks.

The England captain was crowned the best player on Earth last night at a glitzy ceremony at the London Palladium, to become the first Three Lions player in 25 years to lift the Ballon d'Or.

In doing so, he fended off heavy competition – with Kylian Mbappe a very close second indeed.

Harry Kane only just beat Kylian Mbappe to Ballon d'Or

Harry Kane holding the 2026 Ballon d'Or (Image credit: Getty Images)

Fichajes in Spain are reporting that according to Vincent Garcia, editor-in-chief of the Ballon d'Or's organisers, France Football, Mbappe led the rankings for much of the voting process.

The vote was decided by fewer than 41 points, making it one of the closest contests in modern history, after the voting process was revamped in 2024.

While Kane's 73 goals made the difference – a whole 15 greater than Mbappe's 58 – the Bayern Munich striker's team performances are said to have played a bigger part in his win.

While Bayern scooped yet another Bundesliga title and reached the final four of the Champions League, Mbappe's Real Madrid were dumped out of the competition by the Bavarians in the quarter-finals, and finished trophyliess for the second successive season since signing Mbappe.

Both Kane and Mbappe reached the semi-finals of the World Cup, with the Frenchman picking up the Golden Boot.

Mbappe and Spaniard Lamine Yamal campaigned harder for the Ballon d'Or than Kane, who even noted last week in an interview with FourFourTwo columnist Jules Breach on TNT Sports that he “doesn't like to talk about [himself]”.

Mbappe, however, declared that he would dedicate the award to Africa, while Yamal dismissed Kane's claim for the award, stating, “For me, Mbappe and I are the two best in the world”.

Lamine Yamal at the Ballon d'Or 2026 ceremony — Lamine Yamal came third at the Ballon d'Or (Image credit: Daniel Yovkov / Hans Lucas / AFP via Getty Images)

The World Cup-winning teenager finished third at the ceremony, winning a third Kopa Trophy on the bounce.

International team-mate Rodri came fourth, with eight-time winner Lionel Messi fifth.

Kane is the fifth Englishman to lift the prize, following Stanley Matthews (1956), Bobby Charlton (1966), Kevin Keegan (1978, 1979) and Michael Owen (2001).

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Mark White has been at on FourFourTwo since joining in January 2020, first as a staff writer before becoming content editor in 2023. An encyclopedia of football shirts and boots knowledge – both past and present – Mark has also represented FFT at both FA Cup and League Cup finals (though didn't receive a winners' medal on either occasion) and has written pieces for the mag ranging on subjects from Bobby Robson's season at Barcelona to Robinho's career. He has written cover features for the mag on Mikel Arteta and Martin Odegaard, and is assisted by his cat, Rosie, who has interned for the brand since lockdown.