Harry Kane may have lifted the Ballon d’Or, but according to France Football editor-in-chief Vincent Garcia, the Bayern Munich striker faced a serious challenge from Kylian Mbappé before claiming football’s biggest individual prize.

Garcia revealed just how close the voting turned outto be, noting that the margin between Kane and Mbappé was even smaller than the 41-point difference separating Rodri and Vinícius Júnior in 2024.

“This year, there were several serious contenders. The two closest were the top two, Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappé, and the race between them was decided by very little. 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. It was incredibly close between Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappé in the battle for first place this year,” Garcia told L’Équipe du soir (as captured by @iMiaSanMia).

Garcia also explained how the race developed while the votes were being counted, revealing that Mbappé led for much of theprocess before Kane mounted his challenge.

“I was watching the results in real time during the month of the vote. Kylianled 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,” Garcia remarked.

When asked who he personally voted for, Garcia refused to reveal his selection before France Football published the official voting details.

“Well, I’d prefer you to find that out when it’s released in France Football, because I ask the jury members not to reveal their votes before the magazine is published, so I’m not going to do so myself. I voted for someone who didn’t win, and I believe he deserved it, too,” Garcia said.

Kane ultimately came out on top, but Garcia’s revelations make one thing clear: this Ballon d’Or race went right down to the wire.