The votes cast by the 100 Ballon d’Or 2026 jurors have been revealed, showing strong regional support for several leading contenders but only one vote for Sadio Mane.
L’Equipe published the full breakdown on Friday, four days after the 70th Ballon d’Or ceremony in London. Harry Kane collected the award last Monday, finishing ahead of Kylian Mbappe in second and Lamine Yamal in third.
Morocco’s representative, journalist Mostafa Badri, selected Achraf Hakimi as his preferred candidate. He was the only member of the jury to vote for the Paris Saint-Germain and Lions de l’Atlas right-back, who is 27 and has won 103 caps for Morocco, scoring 12 goals.
The Moroccan choice was described as a notably chauvinistic one, particularly as nine of the 20 African jurors backed Mbappe.
The France and Real Madrid forward received votes from Benin, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Egypt, Ghana, Guinea, Mali, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zambia.
Algeria’s vote went to Lamine Yamal, while Harry Kane was the preferred choice of representatives from South Africa, Angola, Uganda and Senegal.
Kane’s overall victory came ahead of Mbappe and Yamal, but the voting figures show that the African panel was divided between the three leading names, with Mbappe attracting the most support among the continent’s jurors.
Mane, meanwhile, finished 29th in the final standings, level with William Saliba and one place above the bottom position. The Senegal forward received a vote from only one country: Gabon.
The Gabonese journalist placed Mane in ninth position on their ballot, giving the former Senegal international recognition despite his low overall ranking.