A surprise in the France Football president's vote for Harry Kane: an unexpected ranking!

Mbappé first

The detailed voting for the 2026 Ballon d'Or has laid bare the choices of Vincent Garcia, editor-in-chief of "France Football" magazine and a member of the French judging panel. He handed his top spots to the French duo Kylian Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé, a ranking that split sharply from the final result, which went to England's Harry Kane.

Mbappé topped Garcia's list with 15 points, ahead of Dembélé, the 2025 Ballon d'Or winner, who came second. That made Garcia's the fourth closest vote to the award's final ranking, and he was one of 23 voters to place the Real Madrid star at the summit.

Where Garcia really parted ways with his peers was over the eventual winner. Kane came in just sixth, trailing Lamine Yamal in third, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia in fourth and Lionel Messi in fifth.

Further down the list, France's Michael Olise took seventh, followed by Norway's Erling Haaland in eighth. Spain's Rodri slipped to ninth after finishing fourth in the final ranking, while his compatriot Fabián Ruiz rounded things off in tenth and last.