Harry Kane wins the 2026 Ballon d'Or ahead of Mbappé and Yamal — but only just

Harry Kane has been named the world's best footballer at the 2026 Ballon d'Or ceremony, held at the London Palladium. The Bayern Munich and England centre-forward finished ahead of Kylian Mbappé in second place and Lamine Yamal in third.

The organisers revealed that Kane's winning margin over Mbappé was extremely tight, with Kane pulling clear only thanks to a strong late surge in the voting. The Evening Standard reported how close the contest was, while earlier coverage noted that, unlike his two main rivals, Kane ran no intensive self-promotion campaign in the build-up to the award.

Kane is the fifth English winner of the Ballon d'Or, following Sir Stanley Matthews (1956), Sir Bobby Charlton (1966), Kevin Keegan (1978 and 1979) and Michael Owen (2001) — the last Englishman to hold the trophy before Kane. Owen, who was present at the ceremony, described Kane as England's best ever striker.

Kane, 33, won on the strength of 73 goals in 65 appearances across club and international football during the 2025-26 season, a run that included guiding England to third place at the World Cup. He is contracted to Bayern Munich until June 2027 and has scored four goals and provided five assists in seven appearances this season, averaging a FootVal rating of 7.46.