Kane beat Mbappé to Ballon d'Or by just 28 points

Kane won with 1,055 points to Mbappé's 1,027, the tightest margin since Messi beat Van Dijk by seven points in 2019.

Harry Kane won the men's Ballon d'Or by just 28 points, one of the smallest winning margins in the award's history. The Bayern Munich striker received 1,055 points compared with 1,027 for Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappé, who finished second. Lamine Yamal came third with 881 points.

Kane became the first Englishman to win the award since Michael Owen in 2001. The margin was the tightest since Lionel Messi beat Virgil van Dijk by seven points in 2019. The Ballon d'Or has twice been decided by a single point: Bobby Charlton beat Eusebio in 1966 and Matthias Sammer edged Ronaldo in 1996.

Kane claimed the prize after scoring 73 goals in 65 matches last season, helping Bayern Munich win the Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal double and leading England to third place at the World Cup. The award is decided by votes from 100 journalists using a weighted points system.