Kane beat Mbappé to Ballon d'Or by one of smallest margins in history

Harry Kane won the 2026 Men's Ballon d'Or, edging out Kylian Mbappé by just 28 points in one of the closest votes in the award's history. Kane, who scored 73 goals for club and country last season and netted six goals at the World Cup to help England finish third, became the first English winner of the prize in 25 years and the first for a Bayern Munich player in 45 years. Mbappé scored 42 goals for Real Madrid last season and became the all-time top scorer in World Cup history with 22 international tournament goals, including 10 at this year's edition.