Harry Kane’s 2026 Ballon d’Or victory was much closer than many expected. France Football has revealed that Kylian Mbappe led the voting for a long time before Kane secured the award by fewer than 41 points.

France Football Reveals Tiny Points Gap Between Kane and Mbappe at 2026 Ballon d’Or

Harry Kane’s historic 2026 Ballon d’Or victory has taken a surprising turn after France Football revealed just how close Kylian Mbappe came to winning the award.

The Bayern Munich striker was crowned the world’s best male footballer in London on October 26, finishing ahead of Mbappe and Lamine Yamal.

However, new information suggests that the race between Kane and Mbappe was much closer than many fans expected.

Kane beats Mbappe by fewer than 41 points

Speaking to L’Equipe, France Football editor-in-chief Vincent Garcia revealed that Kane won the award by an extremely small margin.

According to Garcia, the difference between Kane and Mbappe was even smaller than the 41-point gap between Rodri and Vinicius Junior in 2024.

That result had already been considered one of the closest Ballon d’Or races in recent history.

However, the competition between Kane and Mbappe was even tighter.

The exact number of points separating the two players has not yet been officially released.

Mbappe led the voting before Kane’s comeback

Garcia also revealed another surprising detail about the voting process.

Kylian Mbappe was actually leading the race for much of the voting period.

The Real Madrid superstar received strong support from journalists following his outstanding performances for club and country.

However, as more votes were counted, Kane gradually closed the gap and eventually moved ahead.

Garcia explained that the final result was decided by only a very small number of points.

Mbappe therefore came incredibly close to winning the first Ballon d’Or of his career.

Why did Harry Kane win the 2026 Ballon d’Or?

Kane enjoyed an outstanding 2025/26 season with Bayern Munich and England.

The 33-year-old scored 73 goals for club and country across all competitions.

His performances helped Bayern win major domestic trophies, while he also played an important role for England at the 2026 World Cup.

Kane became the first English player to win the Ballon d’Or since Michael Owen in 2001.

Meanwhile, Mbappe finished second and Barcelona youngster Lamine Yamal completed the top three.

France Football prepares to reveal full voting results

The complete voting details are expected to be published by France Football on Saturday, October 31.

Those results should reveal the exact points difference between Kane and Mbappe, along with how journalists voted.

For now, one thing is clear: Harry Kane won the 2026 Ballon d’Or, but Kylian Mbappe was incredibly close to taking the trophy home.