Tonight in London, the results of the 2026 Ballon d’Or will be announced. Will Harry Kane take the crown on home soil? Can Kylian Mbappé edge out his European rival? Or will someone from the fringes unseat the two big favorites? Stay tuned, we are minutes away from knowing the winner.
2026 Ballon d’Or Results
KANE WINS IT!!!
What a storybook tale for Harry Kane. The former Tottenham striker is back in London for the Ballon d’Or presentation. Locked into top form with Bayern Munich, he’s blossoming into a new version of himself and has risen to the upper echelons of world football. His incredible goal-scoring production launched him into a heated battle with Real Madrid striker Kylian Mbappé for the coveted Ballon d’Or. But it’s Kane, winning the award in the city he called home for so many years, in front of a crowd that hasn’t seen an English winner in 25 years.
In the 2025/26 season, Kane scored a whopping 64 goals in 56 contests, including 14 Champions League goals. Kane also scored six goals during England’s World Cup run, which took them to the semifinals. It’s a well-deserved award for the world’s best goal scorer, and a happy story for Kane, Bayern, and England.
Kylian Mbappé, to no one’s surprise, finished second in the voting. He dominated Madrid’s attack, scoring 43 goals in 47 2025/26 contests. Mbappé also put up another dominant goal-scoring run at the World Cup. But it seems the lack of trophies hurt him: Madrid failed to win La Liga or the Champions League, and France fell short in the World Cup. When both your teams are big favorites, going empty-handed is hard to ignore, no matter how many goals you score.
Lamine Yamal, voted the best young player this year, finished third. The 19-year-old sure had the team success with Barcelona, but the counting stats couldn’t measure up to Kane and Mbappé. But he’s the one left laughing after usurping both of them at the World Cup to win it all for Spain. 41 total goal involvements in 45 matches for a teenager playing top-flight football at a prestigious club is absurd; the biggest trophies are yet to come for Lamine Yamal, but they are coming.
Rodri Hernández, the controversial 2024 award winner, placed fourth. His injury comeback turned into another huge season for Man City, but like Mbappé, it’s tough to win at a club that big without serious trophies behind you. A World Cup-winning campaign helped his case. He’s followed by another former winner: Lionel Messi, the record-holding eight-time winner, placed fifth. Argentina nearly won a second straight World Cup in his farewell campaign, but falling short to Rodri and Spain surely sealed the hopes of a ninth title. Playing in the MLS isn’t helping either.
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, one of Paris Saint-Germain’s star wingers, finished sixth. He and Ousmane Dembélé were the attacking fuel that drove PSG to another Champions League victory. Dembélé, who won the award last season and had a strong World Cup showing next to Mbappé, placed seventh. Erling Haaland finished eighth after a dominant season for Man City and an explosive World Cup debut for Norway. Michael Olise, arguably the world’s best passer and the supplier of many goals for Harry Kane, finished ninth. Fabián Ruiz, a crucial midfielder for both PSG and the Spanish national team, rounds out the top ten in a nod to his incredible trophy-winning campaign.
