Kane finished with 1,055 points, compared with 1,027 for Mbappe. Lamine Yamal completed the top three on 881 points, some way behind the leading pair.
The organisers suggested after the ceremony that the Spanish winger may have missed out on votes because support was divided among his World Cup-winning teammates. One of them, 2024 Ballon d'Or winner Rodri, finished fourth with 726 points. Had their totals been combined, Lamine Yamal and Rodri would have won by a considerable margin.
Lionel Messi completed the top five with 612 points.
Under the voting system, each of the 100 journalists awards 15 points to their first choice, 12 to their second, 10 to their third, eight to their fourth, seven to their fifth, five to their sixth, four to their seventh, three to their eighth, two to their ninth and one to their 10th.
According to L'Équipe, Kane received the maximum 15 points in 40 ballots, meaning 40% of voters considered him the most deserving winner. Mbappe received the full 15 points on 23 occasions.
The list of the 20 footballers who received the most points
1. Harry Kane: 1,055 points.
2. Kylian Mbappe: 1,027 points.
3. Lamine Yamal: 881 points.
4. Rodri: 726 points.
5. Lionel Messi: 612 points.
6. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia: 541 points.
7. Ousmane Dembele: 418 points.
8. Erling Haaland: 378 points.
9. Michael Olise: 296 points.
10. Fabian Ruiz: 201 points.
11. Jude Bellingham: 107 pts.
12. Pau Cubarsi: 101 pts.
13. Achraf Hakimi: 65 pts.
14. Vitinha: 59 pts.
15. Declan Rice: 57 pts.
16. Ferran Torres: 44 pts.
17. Vinicius Jr.: 26 pts.
18. Marc Cucurella: 16 pts.
19. Joao Neves: 15 pts.
20. Willian Pacho: 12 pts.