‎Who will win the 2026 Ballon D'or?

[GbitG]

I was also thinking of Lamine Yamal because of his incredible performance in the recent football history but he is still young in the game therefore it is good the award shall be given to a legend footballer. And Harry Kane is also good to have it. In the pool here I see that Harry Kane has the highest vote and Lamine Yamal has the second position in the voting.

The criteria used by journalists to choose the Ballon d'Or winner are now quite unpredictable. We've seen some Ballon d'Or winners who didn't deserve it, yet they were chosen against the general opinion of the world.

Lamine isn't out of the running; he has impressive credentials that make him a strong candidate to win. Right now, I don't think age will be the deciding factor in whether he wins the award. There are many debates about the age of players, both young and mature, who are still making history.

Yeah obviously the France football made unpredictable criteria for Balloon d'Or like if a players have great individual season and he also won other trophy but if he didn't won the UEFA Champion league then they will never be agree to give a Balloon d'Or to him. In my opinion this criteria of them it bit awful because sometimes players didn't won major trophy but his individual performance is still there....

In past we see a lot of cases such Rodri Balloon d'Or as well as Luka Modric Balloon d'Or and so on. Even in 2024 they denied Vinicius Junior because of his behaviors, and I think his behaviors is absolutely amazing 😅😅😅.  However this time is am expecting a good call like Lamine Jamal deserve it and they need to give a the Balloon d'Or to him.

[danadc]

Yeah obviously the France football made unpredictable criteria for Balloon d'Or like if a players have great individual season and he also won other trophy but if he didn't won the UEFA Champion league then they will never be agree to give a Balloon d'Or to him. In my opinion this criteria of them it bit awful because sometimes players didn't won major trophy but his individual performance is still there....

In past we see a lot of cases such Rodri Balloon d'Or as well as Luka Modric Balloon d'Or and so on. Even in 2024 they denied Vinicius Junior because of his behaviors, and I think his behaviors is absolutely amazing 😅😅😅.  However this time is am expecting a good call like Lamine Jamal deserve it and they need to give a the Balloon d'Or to him.

Individual criteria should be the strongest factor in establishing a good option to win the Ballon d'Or. I say Lamine because he's a world champion and already has a level of recognition that not all players have. The problem was that Barça didn't win the Champions League.

Rodri's win was something that puzzled many when that award belonged to Vini Jr., but due to the way celebrations and other criteria are used, Rodri emerged as the winner, perhaps because he won the Champions League and Vini didn't.

[Popkon6]

Rodri's win was something that puzzled many when that award belonged to Vini Jr., but due to the way celebrations and other criteria are used, Rodri emerged as the winner, perhaps because he won the Champions League and Vini didn't.

Yes, here I would like to mention that any of these three people, Rodri and Lamine Yamal and Harry Kane, can take the opportunity to win the Ballon d'Or. But in this situation, of course I will support Rodri and Yamal, because they already have good performances and have a perfect attitude and good initiative in their performances.
They are able to be aggressive in any situation and were able to create good pressure on the opposing team. So in my opinion, if one of them is given the opportunity to win the Ballon d'Or, then it will be a good judgment.

[tottong]

Yes, here I would like to mention that any of these three people, Rodri and Lamine Yamal and Harry Kane, can take the opportunity to win the Ballon d'Or. But in this situation, of course I will support Rodri and Yamal, because they already have good performances and have a perfect attitude and good initiative in their performances.
They are able to be aggressive in any situation and were able to create good pressure on the opposing team. So in my opinion, if one of them is given the opportunity to win the Ballon d'Or, then it will be a good judgment.

Regarding those three names, I agree that Yamal stands out as the best choice his abilities and the impact of his contributions to his club are far greater, which is why I support him.
That said, the Ballon d'Or outcome isn't always what we expect take the recent instance where Rodri won, even though many felt Vinicius was far more deserving.
The selection criteria can be confusing, leading to unexpected winners, and often the reasons behind these choices remain unclear.
The race for the Ballon d'Or next season promises to be even more interesting, and I look forward to seeing various players whether from the Premier League or other leagues make the list of nominees.

[Silverstonez]

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.

I was about to ask OP why Haaland was not on his or her list, but when scrolled down to read other peoples comment i found this perfect list. in all honesty this is a good list and a perfect rating, and would want to see Haaland win this year Ballon D'or. Haaland is great striker and he has scores a lot of goals. Lamine yamal is the second person i am projecting to win this year Ballon D'or if Haaland doesn't win it.

[Adbitco]

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.

I will have to agree with you on this, Mbappe has got crazy numbers in this time frame, not to mention that his won individual awards to back up his numbers, La Liga Pichi chi award, Champions League golden boot and the world cup golden boot, not to mention that he won the world cup golden boot with a record breaking goal of 10 beating his own previous records of 8 goals in the last world cup and setting new records, scoring most goals in a single world cup and also becoming the highest scorer in the history of the world cup. His numbers are just insane and before anyone will come and ask what did he win with his team after scoring all these goals. I will simply ask too, if Balloon d'Or is an individual awards for individual brilliance or it's a team trophy?

[Derekfunds]

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.

I was about to ask OP why Haaland was not on his or her list, but when scrolled down to read other peoples comment i found this perfect list. in all honesty this is a good list and a perfect rating, and would want to see Haaland win this year Ballon D'or. Haaland is great striker and he has scores a lot of goals. Lamine yamal is the second person i am projecting to win this year Ballon D'or if Haaland doesn't win it.

Haaland been in the list is okay but winning is not really possible I mean the season he did great when they won the premier league back to back has  passed and last season they barely play a good football if not in the middle or late of the season they started playing well. Assuming it was when they won the premier league back to back I would have said it is possible but this time is a not possible and the people that is on a clear stand to win is kylian Mbappe, Harry Kane and Lamine Yamal, I'm sure any of them will win.

[danadc]

Yes, here I would like to mention that any of these three people, Rodri and Lamine Yamal and Harry Kane, can take the opportunity to win the Ballon d'Or. But in this situation, of course I will support Rodri and Yamal, because they already have good performances and have a perfect attitude and good initiative in their performances.
They are able to be aggressive in any situation and were able to create good pressure on the opposing team. So in my opinion, if one of them is given the opportunity to win the Ballon d'Or, then it will be a good judgment.

Lamine isn't a player I'm particularly fond of. Compared to Rodri, it's hard to say one is better than the other. Another factor is that Rodri has already won the Ballon d'Or, and I don't think they'll choose him again. It would be similar to what happened with Messi, and the controversy surrounding him at Real Madrid and Barcelona isn't viewed very favorably. Lamine is young and a World Cup winner, and he hasn't won this award yet. He didn't do as much as Rodri in the World Cup, but they should consider a different approach and choose him; it wouldn't be a bad thing.

[Juicyhome]

Lamine isn't a player I'm particularly fond of. Compared to Rodri, it's hard to say one is better than the other. Another factor is that Rodri has already won the Ballon d'Or, and I don't think they'll choose him again. It would be similar to what happened with Messi, and the controversy surrounding him at Real Madrid and Barcelona isn't viewed very favorably. Lamine is young and a World Cup winner, and he hasn't won this award yet. He didn't do as much as Rodri in the World Cup, but they should consider a different approach and choose him; it wouldn't be a bad thing.

We don't want another Messi issue in the year Ballon d'Or,  world cup isn't a yiestisc to win the Ballon d'Or,  we have full season and many players won trophies and performed well with their clubs,  they should also consider them and not the world cup of 7 games.

Rodri is not the potential for Ballon d'Or,  even top 5 he won't be listed, the golden ball wasn't desiring,  Mbappe and  Messi was favorite to win, but Fifa gave it to Rodri, it was unfair to give Rodri without a goal or assist in the tournament.  Yamal Lamine is not a favorite he didn't perform well in the world,  he had only one goal. To me Dembele is still favorite to win, he won everything with psg and performed well in the work with 4 goals.

[Frankolala]

Yes, here I would like to mention that any of these three people, Rodri and Lamine Yamal and Harry Kane, can take the opportunity to win the Ballon d'Or. But in this situation, of course I will support Rodri and Yamal, because they already have good performances and have a perfect attitude and good initiative in their performances.
They are able to be aggressive in any situation and were able to create good pressure on the opposing team. So in my opinion, if one of them is given the opportunity to win the Ballon d'Or, then it will be a good judgment.

Lamine isn't a player I'm particularly fond of. Compared to Rodri, it's hard to say one is better than the other. Another factor is that Rodri has already won the Ballon d'Or, and I don't think they'll choose him again. It would be similar to what happened with Messi, and the controversy surrounding him at Real Madrid and Barcelona isn't viewed very favorably. Lamine is young and a World Cup winner, and he hasn't won this award yet. He didn't do as much as Rodri in the World Cup, but they should consider a different approach and choose him; it wouldn't be a bad thing.

Just because Rodri has won it before doesn't mean if his performance was better than the rest, he wouldn't win it. Yamal hasn't won it before doesn't mean that if his performance isn't good enough to win it, he will win it. We are talking about the overall performance of each player in the competitions that they participated in last season. Mbappe is currently, the favorite.

[Roseline492]

Rodri is not the potential for Ballon d'Or,  even top 5 he won't be listed, the golden ball wasn't desiring,  Mbappe and  Messi was favorite to win, but Fifa gave it to Rodri, it was unfair to give Rodri without a goal or assist in the tournament.  Yamal Lamine is not a favorite he didn't perform well in the world,  he had only one goal. To me Dembele is still favorite to win, he won everything with psg and performed well in the work with 4 goals.

If you are introducing Dembele to be the right player what would happen to mbappe?, if Mbappe was playing at the performance level of Dembele there country might not have even been on semi final. FIFA shouldn't surprise us this time by giving someone that didn't make an impact as others. I'm surprised why you don't think that Rodri could be top 5 or 4 for the Ballon d'Or because this year is when he deserved it than when it was giving to him before. I think goals are secondary extermination for the Ballon d'Or if you are thinking about it because if so non of the recent Ballon d'Or winners has scored more than Mbappe in world Cup.

[KTChampions]

Lamine isn't a player I'm particularly fond of. Compared to Rodri, it's hard to say one is better than the other. Another factor is that Rodri has already won the Ballon d'Or, and I don't think they'll choose him again. It would be similar to what happened with Messi, and the controversy surrounding him at Real Madrid and Barcelona isn't viewed very favorably. Lamine is young and a World Cup winner, and he hasn't won this award yet. He didn't do as much as Rodri in the World Cup, but they should consider a different approach and choose him; it wouldn't be a bad thing.

There's a new scandal swirling on social media right now (it's unclear whether it's true or not) that Yamal's latest girlfriend, Ines Garcia, is leaving him because of he cheated. I'm increasingly less confident that Yamal will even be among the top contenders in the coming years. He is too risky a media asset, who knows what scandal might erupt next. Clearly, this isn't a sports-related issue, but in reality, it's more of a media-related award than a sports award, so...

[GbitG]

.....

Haaland been in the list is okay but winning is not really possible I mean the season he did great when they won the premier league back to back has  passed and last season they barely play a good football if not in the middle or late of the season they started playing well. Assuming it was when they won the premier league back to back I would have said it is possible but this time is a not possible and the people that is on a clear stand to win is kylian Mbappe, Harry Kane and Lamine Yamal, I'm sure any of them will win.

We all know that for Balloon d'Or have unpredictable criteria like France football have their own rules. Sometimes they give handed to deserve man but sometimes they got little injustice decision. However it's up to them but I already told here that no one more deserve than Lamin Jamal. He had incredible season with La Liga, Super Cup as well as World Cup title. Even in all competition he has a good performance. He is the real man to deserve this awards.....

Besides that if we talked about Earling Holland then probably considering him for Balloon d'Or winner is absolutely unethical like he had nothing except goals. So if scoring goals is the criteria then Kilyan Mbappe is advance winner. But this is not the case they just only put Holland at top 5 rank for just filling the criteria. In my opinion Messi also deserve to be put in the top 5 rank.

[Umulala-alala]

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.

The Ballon Dor is still unpredictable on which player to win it but individually Harry Kane deserve the award he played exceptionally well last season despite his team didn't win the world cup he helped England to finish 3rd in the race his performance in the uefa champions league was excellent though his team was eliminated by Paris saint Germain in the semi final, Kane won the Bundesliga top scorer and the Bundesliga title so i think he should be given this honor.

[Achalugo BTC]

Haaland been in the list is okay but winning is not really possible I mean the season he did great when they won the premier league back to back has  passed and last season they barely play a good football if not in the middle or late of the season they started playing well. Assuming it was when they won the premier league back to back I would have said it is possible but this time is a not possible and the people that is on a clear stand to win is kylian Mbappe, Harry Kane and Lamine Yamal, I'm sure any of them will win.

Well, this time might be different. However, you are right, being on the list doesn't guarantee winning, and it wouldn't  be surprising if these three you mentioned win because they are very capable of winning because of the energy and effort they put into their games, but as for Haaland, his chances will depends on how well his teams plays, which can be helpful to him but still, anything can still occur when it comes to football game.

[Agathamay]

Haaland been in the list is okay but winning is not really possible I mean the season he did great when they won the premier league back to back has  passed and last season they barely play a good football if not in the middle or late of the season they started playing well. Assuming it was when they won the premier league back to back I would have said it is possible but this time is a not possible and the people that is on a clear stand to win is kylian Mbappe, Harry Kane and Lamine Yamal, I'm sure any of them will win.

Erling Haaland would have been one of the very top favorite for the Balon D'OR no doubt but he failed to win the world cup, and he didn't complete a treble with Manchester City this season, what was in the way? Another candidate is Ousmane Dembele who's the reigning winner but the world cup was not won by them. The same thing goes to Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappe, they didn't have any chance to close because there's no international trophies.

[Mr Reporter]

Haaland been in the list is okay but winning is not really possible I mean the season he did great when they won the premier league back to back has  passed and last season they barely play a good football if not in the middle or late of the season they started playing well. Assuming it was when they won the premier league back to back I would have said it is possible but this time is a not possible and the people that is on a clear stand to win is kylian Mbappe, Harry Kane and Lamine Yamal, I'm sure any of them will win.

Well, this time might be different. However, you are right, being on the list doesn't guarantee winning, and it wouldn't  be surprising if these three you mentioned win because they are very capable of winning because of the energy and effort they put into their games, but as for Haaland, his chances will depends on how well his teams plays, which can be helpful to him but still, anything can still occur when it comes to football game.

This is why I get angry with the Ballon d’Or organizer most of the time they know how to sideline and humble favorite footballers well it a good one still, i the think from what you have just mentioned about the organizers are just locked into checking players' consistency and some big games moments And for Haaland case, your are very right some how do you think if the City are flying and winning the league Haaland might even 20% goals football mostly is just so crazy, in  football One hot fall from a winger, one injury, one trophy run can move the whole narrative….

[danadc]

Erling Haaland would have been one of the very top favorite for the Balon D'OR no doubt but he failed to win the world cup, and he didn't complete a treble with Manchester City this season, what was in the way? Another candidate is Ousmane Dembele who's the reigning winner but the world cup was not won by them. The same thing goes to Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappe, they didn't have any chance to close because there's no international trophies.

The players you're talking about are key, and they just lacked the push of having won the Champions League. It's difficult because the competition in football is fierce; only those who achieve such triumphs are the ones who have these trophies or accolades. It's not easy to be number one in the world; the Ballon d'Or alone is a prestigious and prestigious award. Kilian deserves it as much as Erling and Harry; they are all goalscorers. The World Cup's top scorer is Mbappé, and he could also be a candidate very well deserved.

[reagansimms]

Rodri's win was something that puzzled many when that award belonged to Vini Jr., but due to the way celebrations and other criteria are used, Rodri emerged as the winner, perhaps because he won the Champions League and Vini didn't.

Yes, here I would like to mention that any of these three people, Rodri and Lamine Yamal and Harry Kane, can take the opportunity to win the Ballon d'Or. But in this situation, of course I will support Rodri and Yamal, because they already have good performances and have a perfect attitude and good initiative in their performances.
They are able to be aggressive in any situation and were able to create good pressure on the opposing team. So in my opinion, if one of them is given the opportunity to win the Ballon d'Or, then it will be a good judgment.

Rodri and Yamal are strong contenders to win the 2026 Ballon d'Or, given their consistent performances throughout the season and their immense contributions to both their clubs and the Spanish national team. They are also capable of making the difference in crucial moments, leaving their opponents overwhelmed.
Harry Kane has also been in stunning form for Bayern Munich, his European Golden Shoe and his record with the England national team are truly extraordinary. However, when measured by their influence on the game and their roles within the team, Rodri and Yamal appear to stand out more than Harry Kane.

I foresee a fierce battle for the 2026 Ballon d'Or following the conclusion of the 2025/26 season and the World Cup, it is certain that star players from various leagues will feature on the list of candidates for this individual award. Dembele also deserves consideration, given his significant role in helping PSG win the Ligue 1 and UCL trophies, he could further strengthen his case if he helps PSG defeat Aston Villa in the UEFA Super Cup.