‎Who will win the 2026 Ballon D'or?

[yixichloro2xx]

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‎Date: October 26, 2026
‎Location: London, England
‎Edition: 70th anniversary ceremony (first time hosted in London)
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‎Hello guys ,now that a new season is starting and also the Ballon d'or award is also coming up, I decided to share my top 5 candidates for this year’s award.
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‎I will be providing  their individual statistic, award and achievements for both clubs and National team.
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‎These are my personal picks, and I would love to hear your own opinions and rankings as well.
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‎CANDIDATES

‎-Harry kane (Bayern Munich/England) FW

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‎Major Season stats (2025-2026) + world  cup
‎ 1. Goals -- 69 goals
‎ 2. Assist --- 8 Assists
‎ 3. Goals contributions --77 goals      contributions
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‎ Major  Trophies/awards
1. ‎Bundesliga 🏆
2. ‎DFL-supercup🏆
3. ‎FIFA world cup Bronze medal (3rd place) 🥉
4. ‎European Golden boot
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‎-Lamine Yamal (Barcelona/Spain) FW

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‎Major Season stats (2025-2026) + world cup
‎ 1. Goals -- 25 goals
‎ 2. Assist ---  17 Assists
‎ 3. Goals contributions -- 42 goals contributions
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‎ Major  Trophies/awards
‎  1. Laliga trophy 🏆
‎  2. Spanish super cup  🏆
‎  3. FIFA world cup Champion 🏆
‎  4. La liga player of the season
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‎-kylian Mbappe  (Real Madrid/France) FW

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‎Major Season stats (2025-2026) + world cup
‎  1. Goals -- 54 goals
‎  2. Assist --- 11 Assists
‎  3. Goals contributions --65 goals  contributions
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‎ Major  Trophies/awards
‎  1. La liga top scorer award Pichichi
‎   2. UEFA Champions Golden boot
‎   3. FIFA world cup Golden boot
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‎-Osumane Dembele (PSG/France) FW

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‎Major Season stats (2025-2026) + world cup
‎  1. Goals -- 25 goals
‎   2. Assist --- 15 Assists
‎   3. Goals contributions -- 40 goal       contributions
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‎ Major  Trophies/awards
‎   1. Ligue 1🏆
‎   2. UEFA champions league 🏆
‎   3.  UEFA super cup 🏆
‎   4.  FIFA intercontinental champions 🏆
   5. ‎ Ligue 1 player of the season
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‎-Rodri (Manchester city/Spain) DMF

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‎Major Season stats (2025-2026) + world cup
‎ 1. Goals -- 2 goals
‎ 2. Assist --- 1  Assists
‎ 3. Goals contributions --3 goal       contributions
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‎ Major  Trophies/awards
‎1. FA cup winner 🏆
‎2. EFL cup winner 🏆
‎3. FIFA world cup winner 🏆
‎4. FIFA world cup golden ball (best player of the tournament)
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‎Drop your opinions 👇👇

[blomen]

the cup winners, rodri and yamal, didn’t rack up many stats during the season. on the other hand, mbappé and kane’s stats were at a very high level; both scored plenty of goals and performed exceptionally well, but they didn’t even make it to the world cup final.

i think it’s debatable who should win this season, but my top pick is harry kane. even though his team lost in the world cup semifinals and finished third, i believe he was the most impactful player of the season.

[Dunamisx]

I remember the last Ballon D'or also sparking debate among football communities and fans, just as you have mentioned, there are qualified players for this title but it is a pity that they couldn't made it to the world Cup or final, while the players qualified for the world Cup final and won may not have enough statistics that may be required in choosing them being the most qualified players, I don't know if Lamine Yamal will be included among the list aside mbappé and Kane.

[Swordsoffreedom]

good list,

But I think only adding goals & trophies will not complete the discussion when ranking Ballon d'Or.
Context is very important in this case.

I know Harry Kane's season must have been fantastic.
69 goal is really incredible achievement. But to get Ballon d'Or, players Champions League and biggest moment will have a lot of influence.
If a player shows less impact in important knockout matches, then the winner cannot be determined by league stats alone.

In case of Lamine Yamal, I think his biggest argument is World Cup success. Also, extraordinary influence for his age. But while 25 goal and 17 assist is great for a winger but there is a gap if we compared him with Kane or Mbappe.

I would put Mbappe in first place. 54 goal, Pichichi, Champions League Golden Boot and World Cup Golden Boot, his individual number is stronger than other. As I said,  Ballon d'Or will go to player who has achieved the most on  biggest stage

So, my personal ranking is:
1. Mbappe
2. Kane
3. Yamal
4. Rodri
5. Dembele

[rdluffy]

This year, I'm really torn between the options
I don't think any one player has a clear advantage over the others

Some newspapers are also including Vini Jr. and Messi, but I'm not sure if those two are really that big of favorites

If I had to take a guess right now, my best bet would be Harry Kane, based on his performance for both his club and national team

[Porfirii]

Yes, the truth is that this year it is complicated because, as you say, those who had a better performance during the season have not shone too much in the World Cup, and vice versa. On the one hand, if we opt for Lamine or Pedri, in Lamine's case after a good season he did not get a good result during the World Cup, and in the case of Pedri the other way around, for many there are doubts that a great World Cup will compensate for a not so excellent season.

As per Mbappé, Kane and Dembélé, any of the three, but perhaps especially Mbappé, would deserve it for their efforts throughout the year, but their performance in the World Cup, and even some bad gestures from some in defeat, would not make them worthy of the title IMO.

[AprilioMP]

Kane deserves the Ballon d'Or because his contributions to both club and England are impressive. Kylan Mbappé is also on par with Kane, and even surpasses him in statistics. In La Liga, Mbappé is the top scorer with 25 goals, and he also top-scored with the French national team at the World Cup.

Between Yamal and Rodri, Rodri is the more deserving Ballon d'Or because during the World Cup, Rodri played a crucial role in the Spanish national team's success in winning the World Cup for the first time since 2010.
In my opinion, the two names that will top the vote count are Kylan Mbappé and Kane. Rodri will likely finish third.

[shinratensei_]

I'd stick to this ranking. It's because there are strong reasons behind it. Mbappe who got three golden boots in the same season has to be the number one consider D'or is a personal award. Yamal must be in the 2nd place consider he gets three trophies in the same season.
However, a bit disagree to put Kane at the top three because most of his goals were in the farmer league.  

So i feel D'or will be winning by Mbappe or Yamal. That's it. I don't see kane win this and it makes no sense if he wins it. Even i'd rather put Dembele or Rodri above him.

[DanWalker]

But their performance in the World Cup, and even some bad gestures from some in defeat, would not make them worthy of the title IMO.

I just don't give too much importance to World Cup. I will not completely ignore it again.
If Ballon d'Or is a prize for individual performance throughout the year then surely an 8-10 match tournament should not overshadow a 50-60 match club season, right?
At the same time, performing under highest pressure does deserve extra credit.

Another thing is, you are right we always give more importance to the last impression. Because World Cup comes near the end of voting period, so its result naturally stick in our mind more than what happened months earlier. So when we go to evaluate Mbappe, Kane or Dembele, emotions enter us.

To me, whole year's contribution cannot be measured by just one tournament or one bad gesture. So fairest approach is to balance whole year's consistency, impact on major matches, performance against tough opposition and overall influence throughout year.