Ballon d'Or president reveals Mbappé led voting before Kane's record-narrow win
goal.com —
The 2026 Ballon d'Or was decided by the narrowest margin in the award's history, with Harry Kane overtaking Kylian Mbappé at the final stage of voting, according to France Football editor-in-chief Vincent Garcia. Garcia revealed Mbappé led the voting for weeks before Kane's late surge secured the win, with the gap smaller than the 41-point margin between Rodri and Vinícius in 2024. He attributed Spain's World Cup winners' poor showing to vote-splitting between Rodri and Lamine Yamal. Garcia criticized Paris Saint-Germain's Ballon d'Or campaign, arguing they should have backed Ousmane Dembélé as their sole candidate instead of promoting multiple players, which left their Champions League winners scattered across lower positions.