Harry Kane wins 2026 Ballon d'Or as Romanian journalist Emanuel Roșu backs Kylian Mbappe

Harry Kane won the 2026 Ballon d'Or, finishing first in the France Football survey. The 70th edition of the award ceremony took place in London. FIFA moved the event to the English capital to honor Sir Stanley Matthews, who was the first winner of the Ballon d'Or.

Kylian Mbappe finished second in the final rankings, with Lamine Yamal taking third place. The top ten also included Rodri, Lionel Messi, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Ousmane Dembélé, Erling Haaland, Michael Olise, and Fabian Ruiz. During the ceremony at the Palladium theatre, presenter Kate Scott described the ranking as the tightest in the history of the award.

Emanuel Roșu was the only Romanian journalist with voting rights in the 2026 survey. He ranked Kylian Mbappe first in his personal vote. Roșu placed Harry Kane second and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia third. He confirmed these three players made up his top selection.

Roșu stated that he considered Mbappe the better player in the last season, placing him slightly ahead of Kane. He explained that he ultimately voted for the Real Madrid forward. Roșu noted that goal counts alone do not determine the Ballon d'Or winner. He also described Kvaratskhelia as a talent playing football close to the classics in the modern era.

Former Romania international Adrian Mutu reacted to the result by stating he was surprised by Kane winning the award. Mutu said that Kylian Mbappe was his favorite to win. He claimed that Mbappe played a more important role than Kane in the last season.