Ballon d'Or points totals revealed as Harry Kane pips Kylian Mbappe by fine margin

Kane won with 1055 points, just 28 ahead of Mbappe—the tightest margin in nearly a decade.

Harry Kane claimed the Ballon d'Or by the narrowest margin in almost a decade, finishing with 1055 points to Kylian Mbappe's 1027. The Bayern Munich striker became the first British winner since Michael Owen in 2001, fending off a late surge from the Real Madrid forward. Lamine Yamal finished third with 881 points, 174 back from Kane.

The voting totals, revealed after the ceremony at London's Palladium, showed how competitive the award was among the 100 France Football journalists who cast votes. Mbappe's second-place finish is his career best in Ballon d'Or voting, improving on a third-place finish in 2023. Three voting journalists did not even include the Real Madrid striker in their top ten.

Kane's winning margin of 28 points is the tightest since Lionel Messi beat Virgil van Dijk by just 7 points in 2015. In the women's award, Alexia Putellas won more decisively, beating Ewa Pajor by 86 points among 50 voters.