Harry Kane secured the Ballon d’Or ahead of Kylian Mbappé after a remarkably narrow voting margin, while Spain’s World Cup-winning squad suffered from internal vote splitting that damaged their players’ chances, Yahoo Sports reported. France Football editor-in-chief Vincent Garcia explained that Rodri drew support away from teammate Lamine Yamal during the voting process.

The Vote Split That Hurt Spain’s World Cup Stars

Yamal entered the global tournament as a prominent favorite to lift the prestigious golden ball. However, the young Barcelona winger ultimately finished third in the final voting standings while capturing his third Kopa Trophy, according to Yahoo  Sports. Garcia noted that Yamal’s path to the top prize was complicated by starting the competition with an injury and scoring just one goal.

Beyond Yamal’s individual statistics, the collective strength of Spain’s roster created a distinct obstacle for the jury. Garcia pointed out to L’Équipe that the national team functioned as an impressive cohesive machine rather than relying on a single standout performer. That unified excellence led to a significant fragmentation of ballots across the squad.

“I do think there was a split in the voting between Rodri and Lamine Yamal from that Spanish team that won the World Cup,” Garcia said, as reported by Yahoo Sports. “I think Rodri took votes away from Lamine in this ballot. There was some fragmentation of the Spanish vote and, above all, Spain stood out as a team.”

The Razor-Thin Race Between Kane and Mbappé

At the very top of the rankings, the competition for first place went down to the final moments. Mbappé held the lead for the majority of the voting window before Kane mounted a late surge to claim the award.

Garcia emphasized that the points differential separating the top two candidates was remarkably slim. For context, the gap between Rodri and Vinícius in the 2024 voting stood at 41 points.

“The battle between Kane and Mbappé was incredibly close,” Garcia stated. “The gap was even smaller than the one between Rodri and Vinícius in 2024, which was 41 points, and that was already a slim margin.”

Kane Earns Praise for Individual Goals and Titles

Addressing critics who suggested Kane won purely on team accolades, Garcia highlighted the English striker’s individual output across all competitions. Kane netted 73 combined goals for his club and national team during the campaign, won all titles in Germany with Bayern Munich, and reached the semifinals of both the UEFA Champions League and the World Cup.

“He is, above all, a great artilheiro,” Garcia remarked regarding the forward’s prolific scoring record and trophy haul.

France Football is scheduled to publish the complete and detailed voting results, shedding full light on the margins that separated the candidates across the ballot.