2026 Ballon d’Or Voting Breakdown Revealed: Kane Defeats Mbappe by Slimmest of Margins

Harry Kane’s 2026 Ballon d’Or triumph over Kylian Mbappé was the fourth-closest result ever.

Alexia Putellas (left) and Harry Kane are the two 2026 Ballon d’Or winners | Jeff Spicer/UEFA/Getty Images

The full 2026 Ballon d’Or voting breakdown was unveiled on Friday, revealing Harry Kane edged Kylian Mbappé to win soccer’s ultimate individual prize by a stunningly close margin of just 28 points.

It was Kane’s night at the London Palladium Theatre as the Bayern Munich and England center forward became the first Englishman to win the Ballon d’Or since Michael Owen in 2001 thanks to a spectacular 73-goal season for club and country.

On the women’s side, Alexia Putellas claimed the third Ballon d'Or of her incredible career after a majestic, treble-winning final season with Barcelona Femení. The now London City Lionesses midfielder won the prestigious award ahead of former Barça teammate Ewa Pajor.

Journalists around the world from FIFA’s member associations determine the Ballon d’Or winner each year, with each voter picking their top-10 finishers in order, with first place votes worth 15 points and 10th place vote worth just one point.

Soon after Kane won his maiden Ballon d’Or, France Football’s Vincent Garcia teased that the gap between him and Mbappé in second was “extremely small.” On Friday, L’Équipe published the full results of the men’s and women’s 2026 Ballon d’Or voting.

The 28-point gap between the top-two finishers in the men’s rankings was the fourth tightest winning margin in Ballon d’Or history.

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2026 Men’s Ballon d’Or Points Breakdown (30–11)

Marc Cucurella was a Ballon d’Or finalist for the first time in his career. | Karwai Tang/WireImage

T-29. Sadio Mané (Senegal, Al Nassr): 2 points
T-29. William Saliba (France, Arsenal): 2 points
28. Julián Quiñones (Mexico, Al Qadsiah): 4 points
27. Bruno Fernandes (Portugal, Manchester United): 5 points
26. Dayot Upamecano (France, Bayern Munich): 5 points
25. Marquinhos (Brazil, Paris Saint-Germain): 7 points
24. Luis Díaz (Colombia, Bayern Munich): 8 points
23. Nuno Mendes (Portugal, Paris Saint-Germain): 8 points
22. Lautaro Martínez (Argentina, Inter Milan): 11 points
21. Gabriel (Brazil, Arsenal): 11 points
20. Willian Pacho (Ecuador, Paris Saint-Germain): 12 points
19. João Neves (Portugal, Paris Saint-Germain): 15 points
18. Marc Cucurella (Spain, Chelsea/Real Madrid): 16 points
17. Vinícius Júnior (Brazil, Real Madrid): 26 points
16. Ferran Torres (Spain, Barcelona/Paris Saint-Germain): 44 points
15. Declan Rice (England, Arsenal): 57 points
14. Vitinha (Portugal, Paris Saint-Germain): 59 points
13. Achraf Hakimi (Morocco, Paris Saint-Germain): 65 points
12. Pau Cubarsí (Spain, Barcelona): 101 points
11. Jude Bellingham (England, Real Madrid): 107 points

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2026 Men’s Ballon d’Or Points Breakdown (1–10)

Harry Kane became the 47th player to win the men’s Ballon d’Or. | Jeff Spicer/UEFA/Getty Images

Ranking	Player	Country, Club	Points
1	Harry Kane	England, Bayern Munich	1,055
2	Kylian Mbappé	France, Real Madrid	1,027
3	Lamine Yamal	Spain, Barcelona	881
4	Rodri	Spain, Barcelona/Manchester City	726
5	Lionel Messi	Argentina, Inter Miami	612
6	Khvicha Kvaratskhelia	Georgia, Paris Saint-Germain	541
7	Ousmane Dembélé	France, Paris Saint-Germain	418
8	Erling Haaland	Norway, Manchester City	378
9	Michael Olise	France, Bayern Munich	296
10	Fabián Ruiz	Spain, Paris Saint-Germain	201

Kane’s narrow victory over Mbappé is even tighter than the one Rodri secured over Vinícius Júnior (41 points) in the highly scrutinized 2024 rankings.

Although Kane beat Mbappé by 1,055 points to 1,027, the Englishman secured almost twice as many first place votes as the Real Madrid star, collecting 40 votes to Mbappé’s 23.

Lamine Yamal completed the podium with 881 points, significantly fewer than the 1,059 he secured a year ago when he finished runner-up to Ousmane Dembélé. However, the teenager did secure 13 first place votes, two more than he earned in 2025. Dembélé, meanwhile, had 418 points a year after claiming the top prize with 1,380 and he didn’t receive a single first place vote.

The following nine players received first place votes in 2026.

• Harry Kane (40)
• Kylian Mbappé (23)
• Lamine Yamal (12)
• Rodri (10)
• Lionel Messi (6)
• Fabián Ruiz (4)
• Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (2)
• Michael Olise (1)
• Achraf Hakimi (1)

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2026 Women’s Ballon d’Or Points Breakdown (30–11)

Rose Lavelle was the only USWNT player that was nominated for the 2026 Women’s Ballon d‘Or. | Roger Wimmer/ISI Photos/Getty Images

T-28. Lorena (Brazil, Kansas City Current): 0 points
T-28. Melvine Malard (France, Manchester United): 0 points
T-28 Vivianne Miedema (Netherlands, Manchester City): 0 points
27. Rose Lavelle (United States, Gotham FC): 2 points
26. Alex Greenwood (England, Manchester City): 7 points
25. Caroline Weir (Scotland, Real Madrid): 7 points
24. Kerstin Casparij (Netherlands, Manchester City): 7 points
23. Momoko Tanikawa (Japan, Bayern Munich): 8 points
22. Manaka Matsukubo (Japan, North Carolina Courage/Chelsea): 9 points
21. Scarlett Camberos (Mexico, Club América): 14 points
20. Selma Bacha (France, OL Lyonnes): 15 points
19. Tessa Wullaert (Belgium, Inter Milan/Como 1907): 15 points
18. Barbra Banda (Zambia, Orlando Pride): 18 points
17. Esmee Brugts (Netherlands, Barcelona): 19 points
16. Mapi León (Spain, Barcelona/London City Lionesses): 20 points
15. Cata Coll (Spain, Barcelona): 21 points
14. Wendie Renard (France, OL Lyonnes): 21 points
13. Mariona Caldentey (Spain, Arsenal): 69 points
12. Klara Bühl (Germany, Bayern Munich): 89 points
11. Yui Hasegawa (Japan, Manchester City): 89 points

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2026 Women’s Ballon d’Or Points Breakdown (1–10)

Alexia Putellas is already a women’s soccer legend. | Franck Fife/AFP/Getty Images

Ranking	Player	Country, Club	Points
1	Alexia Putellas	Spain, Barcelona/London City Lionesses	618
2	Ewa Pajor	Poland, Barcelona	532
3	Khadija Shaw	Jamaica, Manchester City	344
4	Melchie Dumornay	Haiti, OL Lyonnes	342
5	Patri Guijarro	Spain, Barcelona	221
6	Caroline Graham Hansen	Norway, Barcelona	220
7	Pernille Harder	Denmark, Bayern Munich	220
8	Claudia Pina	Spain, Barcelona	155
9	Alessia Russo	England, Arsenal	155
10	Temwa Chawinga	Malawi, Kansas City Current	113

A year after Aitana Bonmatí collected her third Ballon d’Or by just 28 points, fellow Spaniard Alexia Putellas joined her with the third Ballon d’Or victory of her own, claiming it over former Barcelona Femení teammate Ewa Pajor by a comfortable 86 points.

The now London City Lionesses star secured 28 of the 50 first place votes after steering Barcelona to a treble. Putellas has won it all in women’s soccer, and after securing her third career Ballon d’Or, she’s firmly established her legacy as one of the greatest players of all time.

The following eight players received first place votes in 2026.

• Alexia Putellas (28)
• Ewa Pajor (12)
• Khadija Shaw (3)
• Melchie Dumornay (2)
• Patri Guijarro (2)
• Caroline Graham Hansen (1)
• Mariona Caldentey (1)
• Tessa Wullaert (1)

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