2026 Ballon d’Or Votes: Harry Kane 1,055, Kylian Mbappé 1,027, Lamine Yamal 881

Harry Kane won the 2026 Ballon d’Or with 1,055 points, finishing 28 points ahead of Kylian Mbappé on 1,027. Lamine Yamal took third with 881 points. The votes were cast by 100 journalists, and France Football published the full points breakdown on Friday, 30 October 2026, after the award was presented at the London Palladium on 26 October.

The headline totals show how close the top of the vote was, but the first-place votes show where the gap was made. Kane received 40 first-place votes, Mbappé 23 and Yamal 12. Between them, the three finalists took 75 of the 100 first-place votes, leaving the remaining 25 to be shared among the other players on the ballots.

Points and First-Place Votes

Kane’s advantage in first-place votes was 17 more than Mbappé’s, meaning he won more of the individual ballots outright. Mbappé, however, remained close in the overall points table, which is why the final margin was so narrow.

Full Top Eight Points Totals

Michael Olise (296) and Fabián Ruiz (201) also received points further down the table. The points show that votes were spread well beyond the top three, with Rodri in fourth place finishing well ahead of Messi and the rest of the field.

Rodri and Messi

Rodri finished fourth with 726 points, a total that places him clearly ahead of the players below him. Messi was fifth with 612 points, behind Rodri and ahead of Kvaratskhelia on 541. Both results show how much support the top five received from voters across the ballot.

Haaland finished eighth with 378 points, while Olise was further down the list on 296. Dembélé’s 418 points placed him seventh, a total that reflects the continued support he has received since winning the award in 2025.

Yamal’s Points Compared With Last Year

Yamal’s 881 points are well below the 1,059 he collected in 2025, when he finished runner-up to Ousmane Dembélé. This year he received 12 first-place votes, fewer than Kane or Mbappé, which helps explain his lower total on the ballot.

The drop does not take away from a strong season, but it shows how the vote moved away from him in the final count.

Mbappé’s Second-Place Finish

Mbappé finished second with 1,027 points, his highest placing in the award’s voting history. He had finished third in 2018 before this year’s result.

He received 23 first-place votes, the second-highest total among the finalists, and his points total was just 28 short of the winner.

How Individual Journalists Voted

The published breakdown shows how individual voters ranked the finalists:

• Spain (José Félix Díaz, AS): Mbappé first, Yamal second, Kane third.
• France (Vincent Garcia, France Football): Mbappé first, followed by Dembélé and Yamal, with Kane below them.
• England (Henry Winter, World Soccer): Kane first, Rodri second, Yamal third.
• Argentina (Ezequiel Fernández Moores, La Nación): Messi first, Kane second, Mbappé third.

Each country’s ballot is cast by a single journalist, so each ranking reflects one voter’s view. The top three finalists were spread across different ballots, so no single country’s choice decided the result.

How the Lead Changed During the Count

France Football editor Vincent Garcia said that Mbappé led the count for long spells during the voting period, before Kane moved ahead near the end. The final margin of 28 points is the fourth-closest result in the award’s history, according to reports.

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