Shortly after the gala, the organisers of the Ballon d’Or hinted at just how narrow Harry Kane’s lead over runner-up Kylian Mbappé was. On Friday evening, the full voting results were published, revealing some fascinating insights.
Four days after winning the Ballon d’Or for the first time, Harry Kane now knows just how narrow the margin of victory was in his favour. On Friday evening, the organiser, France Football, published the exact figures showing the number of points each nominee received from the 100 voting journalists. The English striker, who plays for Bayern Munich, received 1,055 points – just 28 more than Kylian Mbappé, who finished second with 1,027 points.
Immediately after the gala, Vincent Garcia, editor-in-chief of France Football, revealed that the Englishman had edged out his French rival by the narrowest of margins and that the 33-year-old had only managed to clinch victory in the final stages. “This year, it really was decided by the narrowest of margins,” said Garcia. “Kylian was in the lead for a long time, but then Kane caught up. And in the end, it really came down to very, very few points.”
The ranking also shows who was voted into first place and how often, thereby receiving the maximum score of 15 points. Here, Kane was clearly in the lead with 40 votes, whilst Mbappé received the full points total just 23 times. Lamine Yamal, who finished third and received a total of 881 points, was named in first place 13 times.
Olise tops the list in Curaçao – Messi shines in Brazil
Kane’s team-mate Michael Olise finished ninth in the overall ranking, but unlike Erling Haaland and Ousmane Dembélé, who were placed above him, he was at least ranked first by one journalist. Carl Ruiter, who was entitled to vote as a representative of the island nation of Curaçao, placed the Bayern star in first position, ahead of Kane and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. He ranked Mbappé only fifth.
Another intriguing detail: On the list submitted by the Brazilian representative Cleber Machado, international player Vinicius Junior – 17th in the overall ranking – did at least appear in ninth place; however, it was Lionel Messi from ‘arch-rivals’ Argentina, of all people, who received the full number of points.
A lead of almost 100 points for Alexia
In the women’s category, Alexia Putellas’s victory was far more decisive. The Spaniard, who won for the third time, was voted the winner of the Ballon d’Or Féminin by the 50 journalists with 618 points; former Wolfsburg player Ewa Pajor came second with just 532 points.
The highest-ranked and only German in the list was Klara Bühl of FC Bayern, who received 89 points.
The men’s top 10:
Harry Kane, 1,055 points
Kylian Mbappé, 1,027 points
Lamine Yamal, 881 points
Rodri, 726 points
Lionel Messi, 612 points
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, 541 points
Ousmane Dembélé, 418 points
Erling Haaland, 378 points
Michael Olise, 296 points
Fabian Ruiz, 201 points
The women’s top 10:
Alexia Putellas, 618 points
Ewa Pajor, 532 points
Khadija Shaw, 344 points
Melchie Dumornay, 342 points
Patricia Guijarro, 221 points
Caroline Graham Hansen, 220 points
Pernille Harder, 220 points
Claudia Pina, 155 points
Alessia Russo, 155 points
Tabitha Chawinga, 113 points