Right up until the end, it really wasn't certain which of the contenders for the 2026 Ballon d'Or would win it. England and Bayern Munich star Harry Kane would claim the award, but Kylian Mbappe and Lamine Yamal both would have also been worthy winners.

Kane took home the game's most prestigious individual award, having scored 73 goals for club and country, while winning the Bundesliga and making the World Cup semi-finals with the Three Lions. As ever, there has been some fallout, with those claiming the voting should have produced a different winner.

Yamal's uncle, for example, spoke strongly about the Barcelona star deserving the prize. Adding to that, Frenchman Samir Nasri questioned whether Kane delivers enough in the big moments to be picked ahead of someone like Mbappe.

With both Yamal and Mbappe playing their club football in La Liga, it's interesting to see how the Spanish media, as quoted by the Mirror, have reacted to Kane's triumph.

Spanish Media Drop Yamal and Mbappe Ballon d'Or Verdict

In terms of reacting to the two players missing out on the Ballon d'Or, SPORT noted how Kane won the prize despite not having quite as big an online campaign as the others:

"Lamine and Mbappe could have won it, but the jury wasn't influenced by the players' campaigns. It should always be that way, because it's an award earned on the pitch. A sunny day at the beach in London until a hurricane snatched away the gold."

Interestingly, Marca spotted the trend of a Spain player not winning the award in the year the country won the World Cup. It said: "Once again, it leaves Spain without a Ballon d'Or in the year they won the World Cup, as happened in 2010. On that occasion, Messi beat Iniesta and Xavi Hernandez."

On that topic, Catalan title MonEsport suggested Yamal's lack of form in the World Cup – where he scored just once all summer – probably cost him the award: "Having won the League and the Super Cup with Barca and the World Cup with the Spanish national team has not been enough. His discreet role in the World Cup is probably what has condemned him."

Separately, Marca also went into great detail explaining why Mbappe failed to win the award. They suggested that his relationship to his teammates on the pitch could be one issue, noting:

"The Ballon d'Or, despite being an individual award, increasingly reflects the collective spirit of football. Looking even further back, and excluding Cristiano Ronaldo and especially Lionel Messi, when the trophy has been more open, it has also gone to two players who captivated fans with their ease of integration into the team: Luka Modric and Karim Benzema."

They concluded:

"Mbappe didn't hide his disappointment when he left London, but he's not going to throw in the towel. It's one of his challenges, and he has time at Real Madrid to find his reward."

Praise in Spain For Harry Kane

While there was an obvious focus on Yamal and Mbappe, certain sections of the Spanish press were happy to give Kane, one of the best English footballers of all time, his flowers. Mundo Deportivo, for example, focused on Kane's quality, saying:

"His tremendous goalscoring streak, the second best in history only behind Leo Messi 's in 2011-12 (82 goals), made him one of the top candidates for the award, which he ultimately won."

A report from AS also praised the Englishman, noting how the award "recognises a career like few others, the career of one of the best strikers, and footballers, in history." It added: "There was no second star this summer, but the English will still feel that 'Football's Coming Home.'"

Another writer from the same site said the prize could have been shared "in a year of imperfect candidates" but acknowledged Kane's "impeccable yet understated career, which deserved recognition." It said: "Given equal merit, the most prestigious competition of the season should have been granted the tiebreaker."