Lamine Yamal’s Ballon d’Or vote count revealed after third-place finish

Lamine Yamal’s Ballon d’Or vote count revealed after third-place finish Lamine Yamal finished third in the 2026 Ballon d’Or standings , and the voting figures released by France Football have offered a clear picture of just how competitive the race was.  As revealed, the Barcelona forward collected 881 points, finishing behind Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappe and eventual winner Harry Kane. The 19-year-old had entered the ceremony in London as one of the leading contenders for football’s most prestigious individual award.  Although he missed out on the main prize, Yamal retained the Kopa Trophy for the third consecutive year , reaffirming his status as one of the outstanding young players in the game. Kane edged Mbappe in one of the closest Ballon d’Or races The final breakdown confirmed that Kane won the award by a margin of just 28 points.  The Bayern Munich striker finished with 1,055 points, while Mbappe collected 1,027 in what proved to be an exceptionally tight contest between the two forwards. Yamal was further back on 881 points, leaving him 146 behind the Real Madrid attacker.  However, the Barcelona teenager still received considerable backing from the international jury, with 13 journalists placing him first on their ballots. Rodri’s candidacy affected Yamal’s Ballon d’Or chances Another significant detail concerned the distribution of support between Yamal and his Spanish compatriot Rodri.  The Manchester City midfielder finished fourth with 726 points, while 10 journalists selected him as their first choice. Vincent Garcia, editor-in-chief of France Football, had previously suggested that the presence of two prominent Spanish candidates had worked against Yamal .  Garcia explained that support was divided between the Barcelona forward and Rodri, making it more difficult for either player to emerge as the clear individual choice from Spain’s World Cup-winning campaign. To put it in perspective, Yamal and Rodri collected a combined 1,607 points, although the voting breakdown alone cannot establish how voters would have ranked Yamal had Rodri not been nominated.  View this post on Instagram A post shared by @lamineyamal It is therefore more accurate to describe the split as a potential disadvantage rather than claiming that Rodri directly cost his compatriot the award. Lamine Yamal focused on winning the Ballon d’Or Despite missing out on the top honour, Yamal has little reason to view his latest result as a setback.  He has now finished on the Ballon d’Or podium for the second consecutive year, having placed second in 2025 before taking third position this time. His response after the ceremony also suggested that the result has not diminished his ambition.  Taking to social media, the Barcelona forward wrote: “IT WILL COME, good things take time, I trust the path I’m building. Without a hurry, with excitement and with tranquillity, that someday my time will come.” At 19, Yamal has considerable time to pursue the award again, and his consecutive podium finishes show that he is already competing at the level required to be recognised as one of the best in the sport.