Three candidates, then two, and no clear message
Harry Kane won the 2026 Ballon d’Or on Monday night, the first English winner in 25 years, ahead of Kylian Mbappé and Lamine Yamal. Paris Saint-Germain, holders through Ousmane Dembélé in 2025, could not keep the trophy in the capital. Three PSG players still reached the top 10: Khvicha Kvaratskhelia in sixth, Dembélé in seventh and Fabian Ruiz in tenth.
Vincent Garcia, editor-in-chief of France Football, thinks the club got in its own way. Speaking to La Chaîne L’Équipe after the ceremony, as reported by RMC Sport, he said PSG’s communication was not very clear because it first promoted three players, then two. His view: Paris should have picked one name and pushed it hard, and that name should have been Dembélé, the reigning winner.
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Why Mbappé’s campaign worked
Garcia was far more generous about Mbappé, whose repeated media appearances he credits for a strong run. In his telling, Mbappé explained what he had done in a World Cup year and got that argument into the heads of the voters, in a season with several favorites who did not each tick every box. Garcia stressed that it was decided by very little.
The full top 10 reads Kane, Mbappé, Yamal, Rodri, Lionel Messi, Kvaratskhelia, Dembélé, Erling Haaland, Michael Olise and Fabian Ruiz. Garcia also noted that he does not work in communications himself, so this is an outsider’s read on a split PSG message, not an inside account.
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