Guti talks about a ‘coincidence’ with the Ballon d’Or and notices Harry Kane’s quick reaction to winning the award.
Guti has raised some doubts about this year’s Ballon d’Or result, calling it an “incredible coincidence” that Harry Kane won after the ceremony was moved from Paris to London. The former Real Madrid and Spain midfielder watched as Kane took the top prize, beating Kylian Mbappe and Lamine Yamal.
Kane was the clear favorite, and for good reason. He scored 73 goals for club and country during the 2025-26 season, a record only Lionel Messi has beaten with 82 goals in 2011-12.
But despite Kane’s amazing numbers, Guti isn’t fully convinced. Speaking on El Chiringuito after the announcement, he shared his thoughts openly.
“It’s funny how for the 70th anniversary, they move the ceremony to London, and then someone from London wins it,” he said. “It’s quite a coincidence, isn’t it? It’s like everything was…”
Another pundit said “orchestrated,” and Guti agreed, “Exactly. That’s what I think—it’s how I’ve felt about this award for a long time.”
Guti also talked about Kane’s reaction to winning. “When I saw his face after they called his name, I don’t think he ever expected to win,” he said. “Not once.”
He added, “I think Kane thought Lamine Yamal or Mbappe would win instead. You just have to look at his expression.”
The race was definitely tight. After the ceremony, France Football editor-in-chief Vincent Garcia revealed just how close Kane and Mbappe were.
“This year, there were several strong contenders,” he said. “The two closest were Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappe, and the difference was very small.”
He explained, “The points gap between them was even smaller than the 41-point gap between Rodri and Vinicius in 2024, which was already very narrow.”
Garcia added, “It was super close. I followed the votes in real time during the month. Mbappe was leading for a while, but Kane caught up in the end. It all came down to just a few points.”