Italian Journalist Explains Why He Voted Mbappe Over Kane for 2026 Ballon d’Or

FolioPitch.com – 28 October 2026 | When Harry Kane was crowned the 2026 Ballon d’Or winner at the Palladium in London on Monday night, the football world celebrated the first Englishman to claim the prestigious individual award in 25 years. Yet not every voter had the Bayern Munich striker at the summit of their ballot. Paolo Condò, the esteemed Corriere della Sera and Sky Sport Italia journalist chosen to represent Italy, has become a talking point after revealing that the Italian journalist explains why he voted Mbappe over Kane for 2026 Ballon d’Or, opting for Kylian Mbappé at the top of his list and leaving the eventual winner entirely out of his top three.

Condò’s ballot, detailed in a column for Corriere della Sera, placed Mbappé first, Manchester City’s Rodri second and Paris Saint-Germain’s Khvicha Kvaratskhelia third. Kane, who finished atop the overall standings ahead of Mbappé, Lamine Yamal, Rodri and Lionel Messi, did not feature in the Italian representative’s top three at all. The disclosure has reignited debate about the voting criteria and the increasingly subjective nature of the award, with the Italian journalist explains why he voted Mbappe over Kane for 2026 Ballon d’Or becoming one of the most discussed storylines of the ceremony.

A Vote Rooted in Individual Performance

Condò’s reasoning is grounded in the first criterion set out by the jury: individual performance. He noted that while Kane scored more goals overall, Mbappé outscored the Englishman in both the Champions League and the World Cup — the two tournaments in which their paths could be directly compared. The Frenchman finished the season with three separate top scorer titles: 25 goals in LaLiga, 15 in the Champions League and 10 at the World Cup. For Condò, that body of work, achieved without team trophies, deserved recognition at the very top of his ballot.

“Kane scored even more, but in the two tournaments in which they competed, the Frenchman prevailed,” Condò wrote. He described Kane as “a splendid, 360-degree striker, who probably benefitted from the ‘career effect’ in the most uncertain award of all time.” The phrase captures the essence of the Italian journalist explains why he voted Mbappe over Kane for 2026 Ballon d’Or: a deliberate choice to look beyond a single season and beyond the narrative pull of a career-defining crowning moment.

The ‘Career Effect’ and an Uncertain Race

Condò characterised the 2026 edition as the most uncertain Ballon d’Or vote in history, arguing there was no indisputable winner. In the absence of a clear-cut champion, he chose to think beyond one season. Placing Mbappé at the top, he explained, was partly an attempt to eliminate the possibility of a player of that calibre retiring without ever lifting the Ballon d’Or. At 27 and playing for Real Madrid, Mbappé theoretically has time until at least 2032, but Condò senses that Lamine Yamal, already a Kopa Trophy winner at 19, will soon begin to dominate the award, while another Frenchman, Michael Olise, could emerge as the next contender.

“Disturbed by the idea that the best contemporary player might not ever win the most prestigious individual award, I decided to prioritise the first criterion set out by the jury,” he added. It is a rationale that once again highlights the Italian journalist explains why he voted Mbappe over Kane for 2026 Ballon d’Or, a decision that has divided opinion among fans and pundits alike.

How the Ballot Works

The Ballon d’Or is decided by an international jury of specialised journalists, with one representative per country for the top 100 FIFA-ranked nations. Each journalist selects 10 players from a 30-player shortlist, awarding points on a sliding scale:

• 1st place: 15 points
• 2nd place: 12 points
• 3rd place: 10 points
• 4th place: 8 points
• 5th place: 7 points
• 6th place: 5 points
• 7th place: 4 points
• 8th place: 3 points
• 9th place: 2 points
• 10th place: 1 point

The player with the highest overall score is crowned the winner. Condò also confirmed he voted for Unai Simón for the Yashin Trophy, Paris Saint-Germain for men’s club of the year and Mikel Arteta for men’s coach of the year.

A Debate That Will Rumble On

Kane’s victory makes him only the fifth Englishman to win the Ballon d’Or since its inception in 1956, a landmark moment for English football. Yet Condò’s ballot ensures the conversation will not end with the trophy presentation. The Italian journalist explains why he voted Mbappe over Kane for 2026 Ballon d’Or with clarity and conviction, offering a window into the difficult choices voters face when no candidate is universally accepted as the best.

In the end, the 2026 Ballon d’Or will be remembered as much for the closeness of the race and the diversity of opinions as for the winner himself. Condò’s decision to favour Mbappé’s individual scoring exploits over Kane’s overall body of work reflects a broader philosophical divide in how the award is interpreted. Whether one agrees with his ballot or not, the Italian journalist explains why he voted Mbappe over Kane for 2026 Ballon d’Or in a way that underscores the complexity and subjectivity inherent in crowning football’s finest individual talent.