Harry Kane Excluded from FIFPRO World 11 Despite Ballon d'Or Win

In a surprising development for international soccer, Ballon d'Or winner Harry Kane has been left out of the 2026 FIFPRO Men's World 11. The annual team of the year, announced on Monday, is decided exclusively by votes from nearly 20,000 professional footballers worldwide representing dozens of countries.

Kane, who secured the Ballon d'Or ahead of Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe by one of the slimmest margins in history last month, was included among the 26 finalists for the team. However, fellow professionals voted him fifth among forwards, earning 27.6 percent of the votes in his position. This exclusion marks the first time since the award's inception in 2005 that a reigning Ballon d'Or winner has failed to make the FIFPRO ideal lineup.

The selection instead featured a front four composed of Kylian Mbappe, Lamine Yamal, Lionel Messi, and Erling Haaland. Mbappe led the forward voting with 46 percent, followed by Yamal at 37.4 percent, Messi at 29.5 percent, and Haaland at 28.4 percent, narrowly edging out the Bayern Munich star.

The exclusion generated immediate reaction, including a response from Bayern Munich. The German club posted statistics of their English forward on social media with the caption "Literally, the best in the world," which observers interpreted as a sarcastic commentary on the voting results just weeks after his Ballon d'Or victory.

While Kane missed out, several of his international and club peers earned selection. Midfield honors went to Spain's Rodri, Paris Saint-Germain's Vitinha, and England teammate Jude Bellingham. Rodri emerged as the most popular midfielder with 33.4 percent of the vote, closely followed by Bellingham at 31.3 percent.

The defensive line features Paris Saint-Germain's Achraf Hakimi, who topped defender voting with 40.9 percent, alongside Barcelona's Pau Cubarsi and PSG's Nuno Mendes. In goal, Arsenal's David Raya dominated his category with 51.9 percent of the votes after securing a third consecutive Premier League Golden Glove and helping Spain win the World Cup.

FC Barcelona enjoyed strong representation in the men's squad with three players selected: Lamine Yamal, Pau Cubarsi, and Rodri. Meanwhile, the Women's FIFPRO World 11 highlighted standout performances from the Women's Super League, placing seven WSL stars in the team, including a record-breaking ninth appearance for Lucy Bronze and selections for Lionesses teammates Hannah Hampton, Alex Greenwood, Ella Toone, and Alessia Russo.