Harry Kane won the 2026 Ballon d'Or with 1,055 points, beating Kylian Mbappé (1,027 points) by just 28 points — the fourth-smallest margin in the award's history. Lamine Yamal finished third with 881 points. The full voting breakdown, released by L'Équipe, revealed that three countries' journalists — Ukraine, Greece and Scotland — left Mbappé entirely out of their top 10, despite him appearing on 97 of 100 ballots.
The voting reflects the subjective nature of the award. Ukraine's voter, Ihor Linnyk, placed PSG midfielder Fabián Ruiz first, Barcelona's Pau Cubarsí second, and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia third, ranking Kane only ninth. The Greek voter, Manos Staramopoulos, put Kvaratskhelia first, ahead of Rodri and Willian Pacho, and also excluded Kane, Yamal and Ousmane Dembélé. The Croatian journalist, Zdravko Reić, publicly apologised for his ballot after placing Rodri first. Kane himself was left off two ballots (Côte d'Ivoire and Mexico), while Yamal was snubbed by four voters (Belarus, Cameroon, Croatia a
Ukraine, Greece and Scotland were the only three countries whose Ballon d'Or voters left Kylian Mbappé out of their top 10. Ukraine's voter, Ihor Linnyk, put PSG's Fabián Ruiz first and ranked winner Harry Kane only ninth. This is a historical photo share of a 1977 Sports Illustrated cover, not a factual claim. This is sarcasm about low World Series ratings, not a factual claim.
LGood morning, Saturday. Marcus, the Ballon d'Or voting breakdown just dropped and it is WILD.
MHarry Kane won it by 28 points over Mbappé. Twenty-eight! Fourth-closest in history.
LAnd here's the kicker: three countries left Mbappé completely OUT of their top ten. Ukraine, Greece, Scotland.
MOut of the top ten! The guy was on 97 of 100 ballots. Three voters said, nah, not even tenth.
LFabrizio Romano posted it. And the Ukrainian ballot is the one everyone's screaming about.
MIhor Linnyk put PSG's Fabián Ruiz FIRST. Kane, the actual winner, he had NINTH.
LNinth! The man who won the whole thing, ninth on his ballot. That's a protest vote if I've ever seen one.
MIt's not a protest, it's a statement. He put Kvaratskhelia third, Cubarsí second. He's voting for his guys.
LHis guys? Fabián Ruiz over Mbappé? Come on. That's not a ballot, that's a grudge.
MOr it's a journalist who actually watched the games and voted for who he thought was best. That's the whole point of the award.
LThe whole point is to pick the best player in the world! Mbappé scored 44 goals last season. FORTY-FOUR.
MAnd Kane won the Bundesliga, broke the single-season scoring record, and dragged England to a World Cup final. It's not crazy to have him lower.
LLower is one thing. Ninth is another. The Greek voter didn't even have Kane in his top ten either!
MManos Staramopoulos had Kvaratskhelia first, Rodri second, Willian Pacho third. French outlets are calling it the craziest ballot of all 100.
LKvaratskhelia first! He's a great player, but Ballon d'Or first? Over Kane, Mbappé, Yamal? That's not serious.
MIt's one journalist's opinion. That's how the award works. You don't have to agree, but you can't call it invalid.
LI can call it ridiculous. Real Madrid fans are losing their minds, and honestly? They're right.
MReal Madrid fans are always losing their minds. The Croatian journalist actually APOLOGIZED for his ballot after putting Rodri first.
LSee? Even the voters know when they've messed up. That tells you something.
MIt tells me there's too much pressure on these journalists. They should vote their conscience, not the popular pick.
LFine, but when your conscience says Fabián Ruiz is the best player in the world, maybe your conscience needs a second opinion.
MAnd yet Kane still won. So the system worked. The best player got the trophy.
LBarely. Twenty-eight points. If one of those three voters had Mbappé in their top five, we're having a different conversation.
MThat's the beauty of it. One vote matters. That's why they release the full breakdown.
LSpeaking of votes that matter, the World Series ratings are in and they are... not great.
MAndrew Wagner on X with the sarcasm: only 12.2 million proving the ALDS and NLCS should've been ignored and the Yankees and Dodgers just placed in the World Series.
LFor the best interest of baseball and its broadcast partners, obviously.
MTwelve point two million for a World Series game. That's... rough. But the Brewers and Rays aren't exactly the Yankees and Dodgers.
LNo, they're the teams that EARNED it. Milwaukee swept the Dodgers! They're 9-1 this postseason.
MAnd six of those ten games were decided by one run. That's drama. That's baseball.
LBut the casual fan wants the big markets. The networks want the big markets. So we get this sarcasm.
MThe Brewers are up 2-0 on the Rays in the World Series. If they win, that's a 50-plus year drought ended. That's a story.
LSarah Langs pointed out 2026 could be the first year multiple teams end 50-plus year title droughts. Brewers and Knicks.
MThat's the power of the Aaron Ashby and Landry Shamet friendship, apparently.
LWhatever works. But the ratings argument is real. Baseball has a small-market problem.
MIt's not a problem, it's parity. The Brewers earned their spot. The Rays earned theirs. That's the sport.
LAnd the sport is getting 12 million viewers while a regular season NFL game gets 20. That's a problem.
MDifferent world entirely. NFL is a weekly event. Baseball is a daily grind. You can't compare them.
LYou can when the World Series is supposed to be the crown jewel. 12 million is embarrassing.
MIt's the reality of a 162-game season. The regular season doesn't build stars the way the NFL does.
LThen maybe baseball needs to fix that. But that's a whole other argument.
MHere's one that'll start a fight: a post going around claims the Yankees beat the Dodgers in a Mumbai showdown.
LA Mumbai showdown? That sounds like something someone made up for clicks.
MITV Gold posted it. No evidence of any Yankees-Dodgers game in Mumbai. Looks like a joke or fabricated event.
LSo it's not real, or at least nobody's shown it is. Why are we even talking about it?
MBecause it's the kind of thing that spreads. People see the headline, don't check, and suddenly it's fact.
LThat's the internet for you. One unchecked post and a thousand people believe it.
MAnd meanwhile, the actual World Series is happening right now. Brewers up 2-0. That's the real story.
LGame 3 tonight. If Milwaukee goes up 3-0, that drought is basically over.
MDon't jinx it. But yeah, this is the best Brewers team I've ever seen.
LAnd the best part? They're doing it with one-run wins. Clutch baseball.
MThat's how you win in October. Pitching, defense, and a little bit of luck.
LSpeaking of luck, did you see the 1977 Sports Illustrated cover going around? Bill Russell leaping over Thurman Munson.
MBaseball by BSmile posted it. Great photo. Yankees vs Dodgers, 1977 World Series.
LThat's a classic. Russell was a monster. Munson was a legend. Different era.
MAnd now we've got Brewers vs Rays. The game changes, but the drama doesn't.
LThat's why we love it. Even when the ratings are down, the stories are still there.
MAlright, that's the morning brief. Big night ahead in the World Series.
LBrewers going for 3-0. We'll be watching. Enjoy your Saturday.