Harry Kane edged out Kylian Mbappé for the 2026 Men's Ballon d'Or by just 28 points, making it one of the closest votes in the award's history.
Bayern Munich striker Kane became the first English winner of the prize in 25 years on Monday as Bayern celebrated their first Ballon d'Or winner in 45 years, and the first for any player at a German club since 1996.
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The England international scored 73 goals for club and country last season, when he was Europe's top scorer, and his six goals at the World Cup helped his country to a third-place finish.
Mbappé, meanwhile, struck 42 goals for Real Madrid last season before becoming the top scorer in World Cup history this summer with 22 goals for France, 10 of them scored at this year's edition.
And the full voting breakdown published by French outlet L'Equipe on Friday, ahead of award organizers France Football's print version being released on Saturday, showed just how close the race was between the two strikers.
Kane garnered 40 first-place votes for a total of 1,055 points, compared to 23 first-place votes for runner-up Mbappé and a total of 1,027 points. That made it the fourth-closest vote in the award's 70-year history, according to L'Equipe, and the closest since Lionel Messi beat Virgil van Dijk by seven points in 2019.
The prize is decided by a jury of 100 international journalists. The points system awards 15 points for first place, 12 for second, 10 for third, then 8, 7, 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1 point for the rest of the top 10.
Third-place Lamine Yamal was a further 146 points back of Mbappé, and took 13 first-place votes, after a standout year that saw the 19-year-old help Barcelona win the LaLiga title before playing a key part in Spain's World Cup triumph.
There was a split in the votes for the World Cup champions, with Lamal's teammate, Rodri, in fourth with 726 points and 10 first-place votes.
There was a more decisive outcome for the Women's Ballon d'Or award. Alexia Putellas (618 points) won the award for a third time by beating her former Barcelona teammate Ewa Pajor (532 points) by 86 points. Putellas, now playing for London City Lionesses, was selected first by 28 of the 50 judges.
Manchester City's Khadija Shaw was a distant third with 344 points.
Full Men's Ballon d'Or Results:
1. Harry Kane (England, Bayern Munich): 1,055 points.
2. Kylian Mbappé (France, Real Madrid): 1,027 points
3. Lamine Yamal (Spain, FC Barcelona): 881 points
4. Rodri (Spain, Manchester City, Barcelona): 726 points
5. Lionel Messi (Argentina, Inter Miami): 612 points.
6. Khvitcha Kvaratskhelia (Georgia, Paris Saint-Germain): 541 points
7. Ousmane Dembélé (France, Paris Saint-Germain): 418 points
8. Erling Haaland (Norway, Manchester City): 378 points
9. Michael Olise (France, Bayern Munich): 296 points
10. Fabián Ruiz (Spain, Paris Saint-Germain): 201 points
11. Jude Bellingham (England, Real Madrid): 107 points
12. Pau Cubarsí (Spain, FC Barcelona): 101 points
13. Achraf Hakimi (Morocco, Paris Saint-Germain): 65 points
14. Vitinha (Portugal, Paris Saint-Germain): 59 points
15. Declan Rice (England, Arsenal): 57 points
16. Ferran Torres (Spain, FC Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain since August 2026): 44 points.
17. Vinícius Júnior (Brazil, Real Madrid): 26 points
18. Marc Cucurella (Spain, Real Madrid): 16 points
19. João Neves (Portugal, Paris Saint-Germain): 15 points
20. Willian Pacho (Ecuador, Paris Saint-Germain): 12 points
21. Gabriel (Brazil, Arsenal): 11 points
22. Lautaro Martínez (Argentina, Inter Milan): 11 points
23. Nuno Mendes (Portugal, Paris Saint-Germain): 8 points
24. Luis Díaz (Colombia, Bayern Munich): 8 points
25. Marquinhos (Brazil, Paris Saint-Germain): 7 points
26. Dayot Upamecano (France, Bayern Munich): 5 points
27. Bruno Fernandes (Portugal, Manchester United): 5 points
28. Julián Quiñones (Mexico, Al-Qadsiah): 4 points
29. Sadio Mané (Senegal, Al Nassr), William Saliba (France, Arsenal): 2 points
The Associated Press contributed to this report.