France Football Editor-in-Chief Vincent Garcia, officially the only man in the world to know the identity of the Ballon d’Or winner before the ceremony, has revealed that Real Madrid and France international striker Kylian Mbappé went close to winning the 2025-2026 Men’s Ballon d’Or, which has been secured by Bayern Munich and England striker Harry Kane.
Speaking to L’Equipe, Garcia said that Kane beat Mbappé to world football’s greatest individual prize by fewer than 41 points, which was the small gap that separated Vinicius Junior to Manchester City’s Rodri back in 2024. The Men’s Ballon d’Or is decided by 100 journalists – one from the top 100 nations in the FIFA rankings – who draw up their list of the ten best players from the past season. The player in first place receives 15 points, whilst the player in 10th place receives just one.
Garcia also reveals that split votes to reward Spain’s World Cup triumph may have cost Lamine Yamal a better spot than third place, considering that Rodri was fourth in the 2025-2026 Men’s Ballon d’Or rankings.
GFFN | Bastien Cheval
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