Finishing second in the Ballon d’Or usually feels like a consolation. For Kylian Mbappe, the 2026 edition in Paris came with a line in the record books that no French player has ever reached.
His second-place finish, 28 points behind Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane, made it nine straight editions of the Ballon d’Or in which Mbappe has ranked inside the top ten. No France international had stayed inside the top ten in nine successive editions before. According to Yahoo Sports, Michel Platini also has nine top-ten appearances in total, but his did not come in an unbroken run; Thierry Henry and Zinedine Zidane each have seven.
Harry Kane’s winning total was 1,055 points, the Bundesliga confirmed, making him the first English winner since Michael Owen in 2001. Mbappe polled 1,027. ESPN called the margin one of the slimmest in the award’s history: Kane took 40 first-place votes to Mbappe’s 23.
Miami, July 18, and a number nobody has reached
The other record arrived in Miami on 18 July, in a match France would rather forget. In the third-place play-off at the 2026 World Cup, England beat France 6-4. Mbappe scored twice. His second, in the 66th minute, was his 22nd World Cup goal, one more than Lionel Messi and the most any player has scored at the tournament.
Read also: Protests planned outside Ottawa arena as Ovechkin brings record chase to Canadian capital
He is still 27. The 10 goals he scored at the 2026 edition were the tournament’s most, adding to four from 2018 and eight from 2022. For a player whose international reputation has always been tied to numbers, that is the most unambiguous of them.
42 goals, no silverware
The club side of the ledger is the uncomfortable one. Real Madrid ended 2025-26 without a trophy, as SI chronicled in its season review of a campaign that cost Xabi Alonso his job. Alvaro Arbeloa took charge for the run-in, and Madrid were knocked out of the Champions League quarter-finals by Kane’s Bayern.
The production, though, kept coming. Mbappe scored 42 goals in 44 Real Madrid appearances across the season, winning the La Liga, Champions League and World Cup Golden Boots along the way. The Ballon d’Or ballot rewards the player with the most votes, not the most goals; it is why a striker can collect three Golden Boots, break a global tournament record, and still finish second.
Jose Mourinho has since taken over at Real Madrid on a three-year deal, and Mbappe has opened 2026-27 with 14 goals in his first 13 appearances.
Read also: Tiger Woods set for Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins as neighbours after $276m NFL deals
Read also: ‘Call it a day, Manu’: Sepp Maier wants Neuer to stop at 40
