Harry Kane reportedly edged Kylian Mbappé by a narrow margin to win the 2026 Ballon d’Or, with full voting results expected on Saturday

Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane reportedly beat Real Madrid forward Kylian Mbappé by an exceptionally narrow margin to win the 2026 Ballon d’Or, according to France Football editor Vincent Garcia.

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Garcia, who oversees the prestigious individual award, disclosed the close contest after Kane received the honour at a ceremony held at the London Palladium on Monday.

Speaking to French sports newspaper L’Équipe, Garcia said the points separating the two leading contenders were fewer than the 41-point difference between Rodri and Vinícius Júnior in the 2024 edition.

“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,” Garcia said.

He added that Mbappé had led the race for an extended period before Kane mounted a late challenge that ultimately secured the award.

“Kylian led 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 said.

France Football is expected to publish the full voting breakdown on Saturday, which should reveal the exact points earned by the leading candidates.

Kane, 33, claimed the Ballon d’Or for the first time after an outstanding campaign in which he scored 73 goals in 65 appearances for Bayern Munich and the England national team.

At club level, Bayern won both the Bundesliga title and the DFB-Pokal during the preceding season, strengthening the striker’s case for the individual accolade.

Kane also scored six goals at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, where England finished third.

His triumph makes him the first Englishman to win the Ballon d’Or since Michael Owen claimed the award in 2001.

Mbappé finished second in the voting, securing his highest placing in the Ballon d’Or rankings, while Barcelona youngster Lamine Yamal came third.

The Real Madrid forward enjoyed a prolific scoring season, finishing as the leading scorer in La Liga with 25 goals and topping the UEFA Champions League scoring chart with 15.

He also scored 10 goals at the World Cup, underlining his attacking influence across club and international football.

Despite Mbappé’s impressive numbers, Garcia’s comments suggest that the final decision was exceptionally close, with Kane ultimately emerging as the winner.

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The publication of the full voting results on Saturday is expected to provide a clearer picture of how the leading contenders compared in the race for football’s most prestigious individual award.