The final standings looked straightforward: Harry Kane first, Kylian Mbappé second and Lamine Yamal third.

The individual ballots told a very different story. Across the 100 journalists involved in the vote, there were huge differences in how the leading candidates were judged. Some of the players who eventually fought for the trophy were completely absent from individual top-10 lists.

Kane was missing from two ballots, Mbappé from three and Lamine Yamal from four.

And those were far from the only surprises.

Kane won — but two voters left him outside the top 10

It may be the most striking detail of the entire vote.

Kane won the Ballon d'Or with 1,055 points and was ranked as the world's best player by 40 journalists. Yet two voters gave him no points at all. The representatives from Mexico and Ivory Coast left the eventual winner completely outside their top 10. That means Kane was considered the best player in the world by 40 members of the jury, while two others did not rank him among the ten best.

He still appeared on 98 of the 100 ballots and eventually beat Mbappé by only 28 points.

Mbappé was omitted from three ballots

Kylian Mbappé's case is even more striking given how close he came to winning.

The French forward finished second with 1,027 points, only 28 behind Kane. But three journalists did not include him in their top 10. Greece, Scotland and Ukraine left Mbappé off their ballots entirely.

That becomes particularly significant in a vote decided by such a narrow margin. Mbappé also received 23 first-place votes, highlighting just how dramatically opinions differed from one country to another.

Lamine Yamal failed to convince everyone

Lamine Yamal completed the podium with 881 points, but he did not appear on every ballot either. Four journalists left him outside their top 10. Belarus, Cameroon, Croatia and Greece awarded the Spanish forward no points. The contrast with his third-place finish underlines just how different the voting criteria were across the jury.

Fabián Ruiz was the world's best player for four countries

Few players produced a bigger contrast between their final position and their individual ballots than Fabián Ruiz. The Spanish midfielder finished 10th overall with 201 points. Yet four journalists ranked him first. Gabon, Peru, Syria and Ukraine all considered Fabián the best player in the world. Going from four No.1 votes to 10th in the overall ranking makes his result one of the most unusual features of the ballot.

Rodri also received significant support. Despite finishing fourth overall, 10 journalists ranked him first.

Brazil ranked Messi No.1

Lionel Messi finished fifth overall with 612 points. But his name still appeared at the very top of several ballots. Six countries ranked him first: Argentina, Brazil, Panama, Belarus, the United Arab Emirates and China.

Brazil's vote was particularly eye-catching given the historic football rivalry with Argentina. Despite finishing well behind Kane and Mbappé overall, six journalists still considered Messi the world's best player.

China placed Mbappé fifth

China's ballot also produced an unusual ranking. The Chinese representative selected Messi first, Dembélé second, Rodri third, Kane fourth and Mbappé fifth. A very different order from the final standings.

The vote was also submitted before Mbappé's later controversy in China, meaning that episode had no influence on the ballot.

Seen weeks later, the ranking looks even more striking.

Greece produced a completely different top 10

Few ballots differed as dramatically from the final result as Greece's. The Greek journalist ranked Khvicha Kvaratskhelia as the world's best player, followed by Rodri, Willian Pacho, Marc Cucurella and João Neves.

None of the three players who eventually formed the overall podium — Kane, Mbappé and Lamine Yamal — appeared among the leading choices. In fact, Greece left both Mbappé and Lamine completely outside its top 10. It was one of the most unusual ballots of the entire vote.

Dembélé and Haaland received no first-place votes

There were also major names who finished high in the overall standings without being ranked first by a single journalist. Ousmane Dembélé did not receive a single first-place vote. Neither did Erling Haaland.

Other players who finished further down the ranking did manage to collect No.1 votes. Michael Olise, for example, was ranked first by the Curaçao voter. Achraf Hakimi was also selected as the world's best player by the Moroccan journalist.

A Ballon d'Or decided by tiny margins

The final table says Kane won, Mbappé finished second and Lamine Yamal completed the podium. The individual ballots tell a far less uniform story.

The winner was outside the top 10 in two countries. The runner-up was omitted by three. The third-placed player disappeared from four. Fabián finished 10th but was ranked first four times. Messi still collected six No.1 votes.

With only 28 points separating Kane and Mbappé, every one of those decisions mattered. The Ballon d'Or had one winner. The ballots, however, produced almost 100 different interpretations of who had really been the world's best player.