Lamine Yamal and Kylian Mbappe not even in the top 10, Pacho and Cucurella ahead of Harry Kane! Absurd Ballon d’Or voting revealed

The journalist from Greece who votes in the Ballon d’Or has stood out with a rather curious top 10.

As L'Equipe reported on Friday evening, Manos Staramopoulos left overall runner-up Kylian Mbappe (Real Madrid) and third-placed Lamine Yamal (FC Barcelona) out of his top ten altogether.

Neither Mbappe nor Yamal picked up a single point from Greece. For Mbappe, that was particularly frustrating: he finished just 28 points behind newly crowned Ballon d'Or winner Harry Kane.

The Greek journalist, who had a vote, put the Bayern Munich goalscorer only seventh. He ranked PSG defender Willian Pacho (third) and Real Madrid left-back Marc Cucurella (fourth), among others, above Kane, Mbappe and Yamal.

Ballon d'Or: Ukrainian journalist also leaves Mbappe out of top ten

At the Ballon d'Or, 100 journalists make up the jury, one from each of the 100 highest-ranked countries in the FIFA world rankings. Each picks a personal top ten from the 30 nominated players, awarding 15 points for first place down to one point for tenth.

Ukraine's journalist, Igor Linnyk, also submitted a surprising top ten. He put Kane only ninth and Yamal only seventh, but left Mbappe out entirely, giving him no points. Instead, he placed Barcelona defensive prospect Pau Cubarsi second.

At the ceremony in London on Monday evening, Kane received the Ballon d'Or. Behind Mbappe and Yamal, Rodri (FC Barcelona) finished fourth, while eight-time winner Lionel Messi (Inter Miami) came fifth thanks to his strong performances for Argentina at the World Cup last summer.