A Victory After a Thrilling Finish

Harry Kane is on top of the world—but by just a few millimeters. This Monday, under the London spotlight, the English forward lifted the 70th Ballon d’Or. Joining him at the top of the rankings, Kylian Mbappé took second place, his best finish to date,followed closely by rising star Lamine Yamal.

Beyond the win itself, it’s the suspense surrounding the voting that’s impressive. While the exact details of the tally haven’t yet been revealed, Vincent Garcia, the editor-in-chief of France Football, has already confirmed that the margin separating Kane from Mbappé is even smaller than the 41 points that separated Rodri from Vinicius Jr. in the 2024 edition. Out of a total of several thousand points, the victory was decided by a hair’s breadth.

How exactly does the voting work?

To fully appreciate the significance of such a gap, it’s important to recall the very strict process established by France Football:

● A select international jury: The voting panel consists exclusively of 100 specialized journalists from the top 100 countries in the FIFA rankings.

● A Top 10 List: Each juror selects their top 10 players of the season (the period from August to July) and awards them points according to a descending scale: 15, 12, 10, 8, 7, 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1 point.

● Specific criteria: Voters must take into account three fundamental criteria:

1. The player’s individual performance and impact on the game.

2. The team’s collective performance and the titles won during the season.

3. The player’s class and sense of fair play.

The tightest editions

This scenario is not unprecedented. The history of the Ballon d’Or is full of showdowns that were decided by the very last vote:

● 1966: Bobby Charlton beat Eusébio by a single point, 81 to 80.

● 1996: The other closest final in history, tied with 1966. Defender Matthias Sammer won with 144 points to 143 for the young Ronaldo.

● 1969: Gianni Rivera edged out Luigi Riva by just 4 votes.

● 1972: Franz Beckenbauer won with 81 points, just 2 points ahead of Gerd Müller and Günter Netzer 79 points.

● 2019: Lionel Messi beat Virgil van Dijk by just 7 points (686 to 679).

● 2024: Rodri edged out Vinicius Jr. by just 41 points (1,170 to 1,129).

In contrast, other editions left no suspense. In 2025, Ousmane Dembélé won by a landslide with 1,380 points, leaving Lamine Yamal 321 points behind him.