According to a report published by Daily Post on Tuesday, October 27, 2026, France Football editor-in-chief Vincent Garcia has disclosed that Harry Kane defeated Kylian Mbappe by a narrow margin to win the 2026 Ballon d’Or.

Garcia, who oversees the prestigious football award, revealed that the points separating the two forwards were significantly fewer than the 41-point difference between Rodri and Vinicius Junior in the 2024 edition.

Speaking to French newspaper L’Équipe after Monday’s ceremony at the London Palladium, Garcia explained that Mbappe had led the voting for much of the process before Kane overtook him to secure the award.

According to him, the competition remained intense until the final stages of voting, with only a small number of points separating the two players when the results were finalised.

France Football is expected to publish the complete voting results on Saturday, providing details of how each candidate performed and the final points accumulated by the leading contenders.

Kane claimed his first Ballon d’Or after an outstanding season in which he scored 73 goals in 65 appearances for Bayern Munich and the England national team.

The 33-year-old striker also helped Bayern Munich secure the Bundesliga title and the DFB-Pokal during the previous campaign. His performances at the 2026 FIFA World Cup further strengthened his chances, as he scored six goals to help England finish third in the tournament.

With the achievement, Kane became the first English player to win the Ballon d’Or since Michael Owen claimed the honour in 2001. He is also the fifth Englishman to receive the award, following Sir Stanley Matthews, Sir Bobby Charlton, Kevin Keegan and Owen.

Mbappe finished second, securing his highest-ever position in the Ballon d’Or rankings, while Barcelona’s young forward Lamine Yamal placed third.

The Real Madrid forward had an impressive campaign of his own, scoring 25 goals to finish as La Liga’s leading scorer and registering 15 goals to top the Champions League scoring chart. He also scored 10 goals at the World Cup.

Despite Mbappe’s individual achievements, Kane’s overall performances for Bayern Munich and England proved decisive, earning him the award ahead of his French rival.