A member of the Ballon d'Or voting panel has admitted he erred in his selections after placing Harry Kane sixth and omitting Lamine Yamal from his top 10. Croatian journalist Zdravko Reic, who writes for Sportske Novosti, instead named Rodri, Erling Haaland and Lionel Messi in his top three.
Voter explains his choices
Reic, part of France Football's jury, conceded he undervalued Kane's performance. "Right from the start, I will admit, mea culpa, that as a member of the France Football jury for the 2026 Ballon d'Or, I made a mistake in evaluating Harry Kane's performance, because I ranked him only sixth among the 10 footballers of my choice," he said in a social media post by his publication.
He also acknowledged the absence of Yamal, who won the Kopa Trophy for best young player and finished third overall. "It will certainly be immediately noticeable to football fans that among my 10 picks I did not find a place for the favoured, possibly today according to the impressions of the best player in the world, Lamine Yamal, who had a truly peripheral role in the triumph of the Spanish national team at the World Cup," Reic said.
Reic also addressed placing Erling Haaland second. "Also, many will probably be bothered by the second place of Erling Haaland, whom I treated as an important player of the Norwegian national team which, in my opinion, was a first-class surprise at the tournament," he added.
Kane's historic win
Kane, who plays for Bayern Munich and captains England, received the top honour in London. His victory marked the first time an English player had won the award in 25 years, since Michael Owen in 2001. The jury consists of 100 journalists, one from each of the top 100 countries in the FIFA men's world rankings, who vote on a 30-player shortlist prepared by France Football's editorial staff, a representative from the previous year's jury and UEFA representatives.
In his acceptance speech, Kane thanked France Football and the Ballon d'Or organisers, as well as those who voted for him. He also expressed gratitude to his England team-mates, Thomas Tuchel and the England staff, the FA, and Tottenham Hotspur, where he spent his formative years from age 11.
