Kane edges Mbappe by 28 points in one of tightest Ballon d'Or votes
Voting figures reveal Harry Kane won the men's Ballon d'Or with 1,055 points to Kylian Mbappe's 1,027, one of the smallest margins in the award's history.
Harry Kane won the men's Ballon d'Or by just 28 points over Kylian Mbappe, organisers confirmed on Saturday when they released the voting numbers. The England captain received 1,055 points, while Real Madrid's France forward took 1,027, making it one of the narrowest victories in the award's history.
The margin is the smallest since Lionel Messi finished seven points ahead of Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk in 2019. The men's prize has twice been settled by a single point: Bobby Charlton over Eusebio in 1966 and Matthias Sammer over Ronaldo in 1996.
Kane, a Bayern Munich striker, became the first Englishman to win since Michael Owen in 2001. Spain forward Lamine Yamal finished third with 881 points, well behind the top two. Rodri (726) and Lionel Messi (612) completed the top five.
The award followed a season in which Kane scored 73 goals in 65 matches, helped Bayern to a league and cup double and led England to third place at the World Cup. The honour is decided by votes from 100 journalists using a weighted points system.
Mbappe's second place is his best finish to date. The article notes that Ronaldo, who presented Kane with the trophy in London on Monday, lost narrowly in 1996 before winning in 1997 and 2002.
The full top ten placed Khvicha Kvaratskhelia sixth on 541 points, ahead of Ousmane Dembele (418), Erling Haaland (378), Michael Olise (296) and Fabian Ruiz (201).
