• Harry Kane won the 2026 Ballon d'Or with 1,055 points, edging Kylian Mbappé by the slimmest of margins
• Lamine Yamal completed the podium in third place, while Lionel Messi finished fifth in a tightly contested field
• Kane's victory ended a 25-year wait for an English winner of the men's Ballon d'Or, a feat last achieved in 2001

The official vote totals from the 2026 Ballon d'Or have been released, showing just how narrow the gap was between winner Harry Kane and runner-up Kylian Mbappé at this year's ceremony.

Ballon d'Or: Kane beats Mbappé by 28 points

Kane, the Bayern Munich striker, accumulated 1,055 points to claim the award, with Mbappé finishing just 28 points behind on 1,027.

The closeness of that margin stood in stark contrast to the distance between the top two and the rest of the field, underscoring how dominant both players were in the eyes of voters.

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Barcelona forward Lamine Yamal completed the top three with 881 points, finishing 146 behind Mbappé.

Former Manchester City midfielder Rodri placed fourth on 726, while eight-time winner Lionel Messi rounded out the top five with 612 points.

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia placed sixth with 541 points, ahead of Ousmane Dembélé in seventh. Erling Haaland, Michael Olise and Fabian Ruiz completed the top ten on 378, 296 and 201 points respectively.

The full top ten standings were as follows:

Kane makes history for England

Beyond the personal achievement, Kane's victory carries considerable historical weight.

He becomes the first English player to win the men's Ballon d'Or since Michael Owen claimed the award in 2001, ending a 25-year wait for England.

Kylian Mbappé tipped to win Ballon d’Or despite losing to Harry Kane

The triumph adds a landmark individual honour to a career already defined by prolific goalscoring at the highest level.

Mbappé backed to win the Ballon d'Or

YEN.com.gh earlier reported that former France captain Hugo Lloris had backed Kylian Mbappé to win the Ballon d’Or after the Real Madrid forward finished second in the 2026 rankings.

Speaking to L’Équipe, Lloris said the disappointment could motivate Mbappé to work harder and pursue football’s top individual honour again.