The Ballon d'Or 2026 has been announced with the victory of Englishman Harry Kane, Bayern Munich forward, who beat Frenchman KylianMbappé by a minimum difference of 28 votes. The French magazine *FranceFootball* published the full results, revealing that Kane accumulated 1,055 supports compared to Mbappé's 1,027, becoming the second tightest prize in the history of the award, after Messi's triumph over VanDijk in 2019.
The election was based on the vote of 100 specialized journalists. Kane was named best player 40 times, while Mbappé received 23 first positions. The ranking also showed Barça's LamineYamal in third place with 881 votes, and Rodri Hernández, who finished fourth with 726. The result reflects the close competition between European forwards, although the difference of 28 votes indicates that the decision was closely contested.
*FranceFootball*'s analysis noted that Yamal's candidacy was affected by the fragmentation of votes among Spanish players, especially with the presence of Rodri, who also obtained a good number of first places. According to VincentGarcia, editor-in-chief, Barça's "10" was harmed by his teammate's candidacy, which diluted support for Yamal. In addition, the performance of LeoMessi, who finished sixth with 612 votes, and that of KhvichaKvaratskhelia, who occupied seventh position with 541, stood out.
On the women's front, Barça's AlexiaPutellas consolidated her dominance by winning the women's Ballon d'Or with 618 votes, beating EwaPajor by 86 points. Putellas was chosen as the best in the world by 28 of the 50 journalists, while Barça's Polish scorer received 12 first places. The women's ranking also included KhadijaShaw, MelchieDumornay and PatriGuijarro, all within the top ten.
With the award, Kane joins the list of great scorers who have been recognized in the last decade, while Mbappé remains one of the most outstanding forwards in world football. The next step for both will be to consolidate their positions in their respective teams and continue competing for international titles, while Barça will continue looking to strengthen its squad to maintain its dominance in both the Spanish league and the Champions League.