Ballon d'Or 2026: Why Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe had 'slight edge' over award winner Harry Kane, as explained by voter

Harry Kane won the 2026 Ballon d'Or. An Englishman, in London, on the 70th anniversary of the award's first winner - Stanley Matthews. The stars appeared to be aligned, but as one of the 100 voters explained to TNT Sports, Kane was not his favourite to take the prestigious prize.

‘If VAR isn’t asleep, it’s not a penalty’ - Mourinho defends Tchouameni handball decision

Video credit: SNTV

All the talk in the lead-up to the awards ceremony at the London Palladium was about how close each of the top contenders were. And so it proved.

Just 28 points separated the victorious Kane from Real Madrid and France star Kylian Mbappe, in one of the smallest margins in the award's history.

For some perspective, more than 140 points were between Mbappe and third-placed Lamine Yamal - who many had tipped to become the youngest winner of the Ballon d'Or.

Ballon d’Or

Kane reveals he would trade Ballon d'Or for UEFA Champions League success

02/11/2026

Emanuel Rosu, the fanatik.ro journalist who represents Romania as one of 100 voters for the Ballon d'Or, told TNT Sports about his selection process.

"My top three were Mbappe, Kane and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia," he said. "I have a system for evaluating the candidates, awarding them points for each of the criteria recommended by France Football.

"More or less, I divide the criteria into subcategories and use a points-based system, much like the ones you see in Football Manager or EAFC."

The Ballon d'Or itself works on a points basis. The voters select 10 players from the final shortlists and rank them on a scale from one through to 10, with the first-placed pick getting 15 points, second place getting 12, third-placed getting 10, working its way down to the No. 10-ranked player getting a single point.

So the narrow margin between Kane (1055) and Mbappe (1027) demonstrates that a shift in the opinion of just a few voters could have swayed the winner. For Rosu, there was one key factor at play in deciding between the pair.

"In my opinion, Kane and Mbappe were very close, as the final voting results also showed," he said. "Mbappe had a slight edge over Kane because, from my point of view, he had a better World Cup.

"Kane deserved his award, there's no doubt about that. He's an exceptional player, and his triumph shows that greatness can come from consistency and normality, not just from brilliance and flamboyance."

Kane came up with some vital contributions for England in their run to the World Cup semi-finals, including a match-winning brace in the come-from-behind 2-1 win against DR Congo in the last 32, and later notched a goal and assist in the remarkable 3-2 victory over Mexico at the Azteca, when Thomas Tuchel's side were reduced to 10 men.

But the 33-year-old's summer was hardly comparable to that of Mbappe, who surged clear at the top of the all-time World Cup goalscoring charts, winning the Golden Boot with his 10 goals in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

How Gordon hopes to emulate Kane's historic Ballon d'Or feat

Video credit: TNT Sports

Mbappe's tally saw him surpass Miroslav Klose, who was the previous highest scorer in World Cup history, and better Argentina great Lionel Messi by taking his overall tally to 22 goals in just three tournament appearances.

Ultimately, Mbappe's prolific goalscoring form was unable to guide France further than the semi-finals, which appears to have been the leading factor in prolonging his wait for a Ballon d'Or - especially given he has yet to win a major club trophy since joining Madrid from Paris Saint-Germain in 2024.

"I agree that the award should go to the best player in the world," Rosu added. "He can also be the top goalscorer, but there are years when that isn't necessarily the case.

"The Ballon d'Or isn't a job for an accountant counting goals and assists. It's about much more than that. It's about the magic of football."

While the likes of Mbappe and Yamal were arguably destined for the top from the beginning, Kane worked his way through Tottenham Hotspur's academy, embarking on challenging loan spells at Leyton Orient, Millwall, Norwich City and Leicester City - none of which were particularly fruitful.

Names such as Russell Slade and Tim Sherwood cropping up in his appreciation speech brought those listening straight back to Kane's humble beginnings, which are easy to lose sight of after a 61-goal season for Bayern, scoring in both legs of the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals and semi-finals.

"This year, that magic shone through a player whose greatness comes from a different place than that of previous winners such as Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Ronaldinho and [Zinedine] Zidane," Rosu explained.

"Kane belongs in the same company as [Fabio] Cannavaro, [Luka] Modric and Rodri.

"Their victories have given so many players who see themselves as ordinary the chance to dream of greatness. Greatness can be found in so many attributes in football and Kane proved that."

Would Kane swap Ballon d'Or for Champions League?

Video credit: SNTV

Ballon d'Or top 10, and voting points

Harry Kane (Bayern Munich, England) - 1055 points
Kylian Mbappe (Real Madrid, France) - 1027 points
Lamine Yamal (Barcelona, Spain) - 881 points
Rodri (Barcelona, Spain) - 726 points
Lionel Messi (Inter Miami, Argentina) - 612 points
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (Paris Saint-Germain, Georgia) - 541 points
Ousmane Dembele (Paris Saint-Germain, France) - 418 points
Erling Haaland (Manchester City, Norway) - 378 points
Michael Olise (Bayern Munich, France) - 296 points
Fabian Ruiz (Paris Saint-Germain, Spain) - 201 points

Download the TNT Sports app on iPhone and Android.

Watch and stream the Premier League, men’s and women’s FA Cups, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Conference League and more live with TNT Sports on HBO Max.

Ballon d’Or

'I remember saying to him...' - Hargreaves reveals Kane chat that shows 'astonishing' transformation

02/11/2026

Ballon d’Or

Why Mbappe ‘deserves’ future Ballon d’Or after ‘truly astonishing’ numbers

01/11/2026