The one Spaniard with a seat at the Ballon d’Or table did not pick Harry Kane.

José Félix Díaz, the managing editor of AS and the only Spanish journalist on the voting panel, said on Cadena SER’s El Larguero that he had been bracing for a different name when the envelope was opened at the Théâtre du Châtelet on Monday night.

“Mbappé or Lamine Yamal was what I was expecting, because Harry Kane lacks something,” Díaz said on the program, as relayed by Defensa Central. “Of the 10 players I voted for, nine were in the top 10.”

Díaz did not say which of Mbappé or Yamal headed his own ballot. He ranked Kane behind both.

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Spain’s vote split too many ways

The second line of criticism was not aimed at the Bayern Munich striker. It was aimed at Spain’s own campaign.

Díaz told the radio show that the ballots for the world champions were “spread around” and that no Spanish player had risen above the rest at the World Cup, which he called a drag on the final tally. Four Spanish players still ended up in the top 10, according to the published ranking: Lamine Yamal in third, Rodri fourth, Fabián Ruiz tenth, with Pedri just outside the group.

None of them collected the kind of concentrated support that would have pushed a single candidate past Kane’s 73-goal season.

A 16-year-old wound re-opens

Spain won the World Cup in July, beating Argentina 1-0 through a Ferran Torres finish in extra time at MetLife Stadium. The Ballon d’Or still went elsewhere.

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That is the exact sequence Spain lived through in 2010. La Roja came home from South Africa as world champions and still watched Lionel Messi edge Andrés Iniesta 22.65% to 17.36% for the award, with Xavi third on 16.48%.

Díaz drew the line explicitly, telling Cadena SER that the triumph in North America ought to have shown up more clearly in the final result, but that Luis de la Fuente and goalkeeper Unai Simón were the real emblems of the Spanish side, not any single scorer.

Kane: ‘extra special’ night

Kane, 33, became the first Englishman to win the Ballon d’Or in 25 years, following Stanley Matthews, Bobby Charlton, Kevin Keegan and Michael Owen, UEFA confirmed. He finished ahead of Mbappé and Yamal after scoring 73 goals for club and country and lifting the Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal and Champions League with Bayern.

Kane thanked his Bayern teammates on the way to the trophy at the ceremony.

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Alexia Putellas collected the women’s Ballon d’Or for a third time on the same evening.

The full vote tallies for the men’s ballot are due to be published later this week.

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