Vincent Garcia, editor-in-chief of France Football, has revealed that Kylian Mbappé led the voting for much of the 2026 Ballon d’Or race before Harry Kane mounted a late challenge to claim football’s most prestigious individual award.
Garcia said the contest between the Real Madrid forward and Bayern Munich striker was decided by an exceptionally narrow margin, with Kane eventually overtaking Mbappé to secure the prize. Kane was crowned at the London Palladium on Monday night after a remarkable season in which he scored 73 goals for the club and country, becoming the first Englishman to win the award since Michael Owen in 2001.
The 33-year-old helped Bayern win the Bundesliga title and complete a domestic double while also impressing in the UEFA Champions League and at the FIFA World Cup. His scoring record proved decisive in a fiercely contested race that also featured Barcelona forward Lamine Yamal. Speaking after the ceremony, Garcia said the margin between Kane and Mbappé was smaller than the 41-point difference between Rodri and Vinícius Júnior in the 2024 voting.
‘I was watching the results in real time during the month of the vote. 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. He described the contest between the two forwards as exceptionally close, adding that Mbappé had produced an extraordinary season despite finishing second.