Harry Kane secured the men’s Ballon d’Or, edging out runner-up Kylian Mbappé by a mere 28 points — one of the tightest winning margins in the award’s history.
Organizers released the voting figures on Saturday, showing that England captain Kane received 1,055 points, compared with 1,027 for Real Madrid forward Mbappé.
Bayern Munich striker Kane became the first Englishman to win the award since Michael Owen in 2001, while France talisman Mbappé also recorded his best-ever finish, ending well clear of Spain forward Lamine Yamal, who took third place with 881 points.
It was the narrowest winning margin since Argentina great Lionel Messi beat Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk by seven points in 2019, while the men’s Ballon d’Or has twice been decided by a single point.
That first occurred when England World Cup winner Bobby Charlton, who was later knighted, beat Portugal star Eusébio by the smallest possible margin in 1966, and Germany defender Matthias Sammer repeated the feat in 1996 by edging out Brazil striker Ronaldo by one point.
Mbappé may take encouragement from Ronaldo’s experience; the legendary frontman, who presented Kane with his award in London on Monday, went on to win the Ballon d’Or in 1997 and again in 2002.