Harry Kane Wins Ballon d’Or Ahead of Mbappe and Yamal

Harry Kane has won the Ballon d’Or for the first time, with the Bayern Munich striker finishing narrowly ahead of Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappe and Barcelona teenager Lamine Yamal at Monday’s ceremony in London.

The complete voting breakdown will not be released until Saturday, when France Football publishes its next edition. That publication is expected to reveal each voter’s selections and the exact points totals behind Kane’s tight victory.

Paris Saint-Germain had three players inside the top 10 after retaining the Champions League and again lifting club football’s biggest prize last season, but none reached the top five. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia placed sixth, previous winner Ousmane Dembele was seventh and Fabian Ruiz finished 10th.

Vincent Garcia, the editor-in-chief of the newspaper behind the award, suggested PSG’s campaigning may have split support between their leading candidates. He said the club’s messaging had lacked consistency, having initially pushed three players before focusing on two, and argued that backing one clear contender would have been more effective.

Garcia said he would have put Dembele forward as PSG’s sole Ballon d’Or candidate, believing the Paris squad’s stars ultimately took votes from each other.

Mbappe, meanwhile, was praised for the way he made his case despite losing out to Kane. Garcia said the Real Madrid forward had mounted a strong campaign, communicated his achievements effectively and reached the voters eligible to decide the prize.