‎Who will win the 2026 Ballon D'or? 🏆⚽

[Primark]

According to Fabrizio Romano the Ballon d'or voting has ended, now we wait till October to know the winner.  Then I came across an account on X, this guy has successfully predicted or confirmed the last 3 Ballon d'or Winner. Maybe he's an insider . Now he confirmed that Lamine Yamal is the winner of Ballon d'or.

Lamin Yamal winning the ballon d'Or predictions are becoming a lot, and honestly I would really love to know why individuals choose him over Harry Kane or Messi.
All these prediction charts are so sentimental so I would not even consider that something too look into that's why I cut it out, But I honestly didn't see lamin Yamal perform well in the world cup, even dembélé did better, so compared with other contenders I don't feel lamin would have even been nominated.

Yamal didn't play badly at the World Cup. But it wasn't as great as we expected from Yamal. He only scored 1 goal in the entire World Cup. So judging by his World Cup performance alone, Harry Kane and Mbappe and a few others must seem strong. That doesn't mean Yamal wasn't worthy of a nomination. Are you forgetting all the other leagues and focusing only on the World Cup? I want to remind you that the Ballon d'Or is not judged by just seven-eight matches in the World Cup, but rather the entire 2025/26 season and individual performance is given the most importance there. Don't forget, Yamal became Player of the Season with 16 goals and 11 assists in La Liga. He scored 24 goals in all competitions for Barcelona and won La Liga and the Spanish Super Cup.

[Italian Panic]

In my opinion, people tend to underestimate the impact of Kvicha Kvaratskhelia at Paris Saint Germain. Sure, they are a fantastic team, but Kvara is absolutely devastating, and if they have won two Champions Leagues, it’s only because he’s added an absolutely devastating element of unpredictability. So, yes, all the great players you mention from Yamal to Kane to Rodri but I think the Georgian deserves it in the long run.
Then there’s the fact that Yamal won the World Cup with Spain, but if we look closely, Rodri would have been more decisive than him just think of how he shut down Oliseh in the semi final, single handedly halting the French attack. Absolutely incredible.

[nelson4lov]

~Snipped

Lmao. So if a winger scores 1 goal in a tournament, it means he was ass? Funny people.
Was Fabian Ruiz the best player for his club? Was he among the top five most important players for his club? What about for his country? Was he among the top five most important players for Spain? You people will do everything just to discredit Yamal. For you guys, anybody can win the balon d'or except Yamal. You people had the same attitude with Messi. You guys support Kante, Jorginho, Van Dijk, and Haaland over Messi.

Your individual performance should help your team win things to be considered the best.
Mbappe played for the best international team going into the tournament. It's not like he plays for Turkey or something. He plays for France, so not winning a bronze medal with that France team is grounds to say he does not have a chance. Then when you look at his club side, he plays for freaking Real Madrid, the biggest football club in the world. The team with the most trophies in Europe, yet he didn't win a single trophy. Even you can't look at that and say "alright give him teh balon dor" in a world cup year.
How would you feel as a Madrid fan if this players comes to present this individual award to you when the team has won nothing in two years?
Kane, Olise and Yamal all have a way bigger chance than Mbappe. He shouldn't be on the list.
He didn't even have a better season than Haaland.

Earlier, you said the player has to win trophies. Now that Fabian Ruiz has entered the chat, you have switched to

Was Fabian Ruiz the best player for his club? Was he among the top five most important players for his club? What about for his country

Fabian Ruiz started both the UCL final and the World Cup final. That alone does justice to contributions and winning trophies. I'm not here to say he should be the winner but going by your earlier comment yesterday, he outclassed Yamal in that regard. If we even go by the raw stats to determine who were Spain's best 5 players in the World Cup, Yamal is not in the top 5 because he only had one goal and 0 assists. The 1 goal came against Saudi Arabia and not against any of the top teams.  He missed a couple of easy goals too.

An attacker has to score or create chances (assist) because those are the primary roles of an attacker (winger or striker). Vinicius had more numbers than Yamal two years ago yet he didn't win it. Why should Yamal? The answer is PR.

Same Yamal that is usually quiet against big teams. Only scores against small to mid teams 

[Alpha Marine]

Fabian Ruiz started both the UCL final and the World Cup final. That alone does justice to contributions and winning trophies. I'm not here to say he should be the winner but going by your earlier comment yesterday, he outclassed Yamal in that regard.

If you want to make a strawman argument, do it with someone else, not me. The fact a player won trophies alone does not make him the best player that season. I never said trophies alone are all that matter. It goes without saying that you need to be the best player while winning titles. And scoring goals does not make you the best player; it makes you a good goal scorer. It also goes without saying that you can score goals and still be the best player, but the fact that a player scores goals doesn't mean he is the best player.

If we even go by the raw stats to determine who were Spain's best 5 players in the World Cup, Yamal is not in the top 5 because he only had one goal and 0 assists. The 1 goal came against Saudi Arabia and not against any of the top teams.  He missed a couple of easy goals too.

Rodri won the best player of the tournament, how many goals did he score? Figo and Ronaldinho both won the balon d'or with fewer than 9 goals the entire season.
You people keep emphasising the fact that Yamal scored only one goal, like aside the goal, he did nothing.

Same Yamal that is usually quiet against big teams. Only scores against small to mid teams 

Okay, I'm going to stop this discussion now because I've seen that you just hate Yamal.
Yamal has shown up in 9 out of 10 big games he plays. France, Croatia, England, Atletico, Madrid, Bayern, Inter, England.
I should have known since you consider goals as the only thing that constitutes a good performance. You saying Yamal only shows up against small teams is enough reason for me to stop discussing football with you.

You people keep shouting "PR" like a player that is average will have the PR 

[nelson4lov]

[...]

Okay, I'm going to stop this discussion now because I've seen that you just hate Yamal.
Yamal has shown up in 9 out of 10 big games he plays. France, Croatia, England, Atletico, Madrid, Bayern, Inter, England.
I should have known since you consider goals as the only thing that constitutes a good performance. You saying Yamal only shows up against small teams is enough reason for me to stop discussing football with you.

You people keep shouting "PR" like a player that is average will have the PR 

On the contrary, I actually like Yamal. I watch some of Barcelona games and I have friends that are fans of Barcelona/Yamal and like you, none of the arguments FOR Yamal they gave hold up. Yamal plays exciting football and so does others on the list. Btw, you mentioned Inter Milan and England but Yamal didn't score against them in the period being considered for the Ballon D'or.

[Alpha Marine]

On the contrary, I actually like Yamal.

No, you do not like him. This is the excuse you people make when you want to hate so you can deceive people into thinking you're trying to be logical. Saying Yamal does not deserve the balon dor is one thinsg. That is based on opinion, but saying Yamal only shows up against mid teams is only a thing a person who hate Yamal would say because it's the clearest lie ever told.

I watch some of Barcelona games and I have friends that are fans of Barcelona/Yamal and like you,
none of the arguments FOR Yamal they gave hold up. Yamal plays exciting football and so does others on the list.

If you want to talk about exciting football, nobody in the world that is not Messi plays more exciting football then Yamal right now. Olise is the closest to Yamal in terms of exciting football, but he doesn't do it better than Yamal.
Yamal and Olise both won their leagues as the best players. Both of them went to the World Cup, and only one helped his team win the title. In fact, they met in the semi final and Olise was taken off at around 60 minutes because he couldn't keep up.
As for Kane, he wasn't the best player in his league, wasn't the best player in his club team, wasn't the best player for England in the World Cup, and wasn't the best player of the year for England. So how can he now deserve to be the best player in the world?
I'm not even going to talk about Mbappe again because he does not stand a chance in the top 3.

Btw, you mentioned Inter Milan and England but Yamal didn't score against them in the period being considered for the Ballon d'Or.

When you implied that Lamine does not show up in big games, you did not specify which season you were talking about, so I had to show how glaring your lie was.
Lamine has been showing up in big games since he was 16, when he won the Euro because he beat Germany, France, and England, and he performed well in all those games.
So for you to come and say Lamine only performs against small teams means you are a hater. 

[W Jr.]

[...]

Okay, I'm going to stop this discussion now because I've seen that you just hate Yamal.
Yamal has shown up in 9 out of 10 big games he plays. France, Croatia, England, Atletico, Madrid, Bayern, Inter, England.
I should have known since you consider goals as the only thing that constitutes a good performance. You saying Yamal only shows up against small teams is enough reason for me to stop discussing football with you.

You people keep shouting "PR" like a player that is average will have the PR 

On the contrary, I actually like Yamal. I watch some of Barcelona games and I have friends that are fans of Barcelona/Yamal and like you, none of the arguments FOR Yamal they gave hold up. Yamal plays exciting football and so does others on the list. Btw, you mentioned Inter Milan and England but Yamal didn't score against them in the period being considered for the Ballon D'or.

We all know Yamal is a highly talented player; his style of play excites us all. However, he is still at the beginning of his career, and I believe it is too early for him to win the Ballon dor. He could become a top contender after achieving success at the club level perhaps by playing a key role in a Barcelona side that wins the Champions League. That is why Barcelona winning the Champions League this year is critically important for Yamal as well. I do not think he will win the award this year, but it is a fact that he will be one of the most serious contenders in the years to come.

[KTChampions]

Oh, come on. Have you forgotten that the Ballon d'Or is awarded for a season, not for career achievements (at least, that's the idea)? The fact is that in the two biggest tournaments of the last season (the World Cup and the Champions League), Yamal was by no means individually superior to the other main contenders. Kane, Mbappé, and Olise hold goal-scoring and assist records, whereas Yamal had none of that. No one disputes that his level of play is impressive, but (theoretically) to win the award, you have to be better than the rest - and Yamal simply doesn't fit the bill there, his ceiling is the top four.

Exactly, if the award is based on individual performance in the last two major competitions played last season which are the Champions League and the FIFA World Cup, Yamal cannot be the clear favorite just because he won the FIFA World Cup with Spain, his performance was actually good, but other players in the list did more than him in the Champions League and also in the FIFA World Cup.

Yamal scored just one goal in the FIFA World Cup, that doesn’t disqualify him, but I am pointing it outside people who feel like he is the best option for the award, and both Mbappe, Olise, Kane, and Dembele have more goals than Yamal in the FIFA World Cup, but him winning the FIFA World Cup is the reason why people see him as the top candidate.
I think there is still time for Yamal to win the award, he has started this season so well, he can start building his chances to win the next award.

It's not about the G+A statistics (in which, obviously, for example, a defender can't be close to the attacking players at all), but that the job of the forwards is to score, and yes, here Kane and Mbappe can show their results (Mbappe's are absolutely crazy) which are higher than those of others - that is domination. Olise can point to the fact that he broke Pelé’s 56-year-old record for assists at a single World Cup, and furthermore, he outperformed Yamal and shone more brightly in other aspects of the game as well. The question remains: what arguments are there in favor of Yamal receiving the award? He is one of many Spaniards who played well at the World Cup, one of many who performed well in the Champions League with Barcelona - but what makes him better than the others? The only thing that comes to mind is "but he's only 17 18 19."

[yixichloro2xx]

Tf is wrong with Mbappe, what made him to even think he has the best chance to win the Ballon d'or this time. Even  Real Madrid knows that he can't win it , if not they would have made proper campaign for him. Instead of him to focus on how he is going to bring titles and UCL to Bernabeu. I trust papa Perez, he doesn't even care about your personal achievement, the only thing he cares is if you bring titles and money. Although he was gotten for free, but his signing bonus and salary are enormous, and that should worry him at times. As a player whose team hasn't won anything for 2 straight season, his concern should be how to work with his teammates properly in order to win titles, then I am very sure Madrid will campaign for him. Mbappe is just chasing personal award not team, one of the reason this Madrid team is not working properly.

Just a reminder that the Ballon d'or is 21 days away

[Sally9256]

In my opinion, people tend to underestimate the impact of Kvicha Kvaratskhelia at Paris Saint Germain. Sure, they are a fantastic team, but Kvara is absolutely devastating, and if they have won two Champions Leagues, it’s only because he’s added an absolutely devastating element of unpredictability. So, yes, all the great players you mention from Yamal to Kane to Rodri but I think the Georgian deserves it in the long run.
Then there’s the fact that Yamal won the World Cup with Spain, but if we look closely, Rodri would have been more decisive than him just think of how he shut down Oliseh in the semi final, single handedly halting the French attack. Absolutely incredible.

That's true many people don't know his importance to the team, they don't know what he offers the team that's why they underestimate him too much. Well despite him doing so much for the team he is still not fit to be in the discussion of winning the Balon Dor. Sometimes it takes more than just being a support.

I don't think Rodri deserves being mentioned than Kvaratskelia, Rodri only showed up one time and you think did more than enough? Playing well in just one tournament doesn't make him worthy. He played well but so did Kvaratskelia too in the champions league and domestic competitions. Enough of all this speculations I can't wait for that day it is announced. I hope who wins it is the most deserving this time.

[hmbdofficial]

That's true many people don't know his importance to the team, they don't know what he offers the team that's why they underestimate him too much. Well despite him doing so much for the team he is still not fit to be in the discussion of winning the Balon Dor. Sometimes it takes more than just being a support.

I don't think Rodri deserves being mentioned than Kvaratskelia, Rodri only showed up one time and you think did more than enough? Playing well in just one tournament doesn't make him worthy. He played well but so did Kvaratskelia too in the champions league and domestic competitions. Enough of all this speculations I can't wait for that day it is announced. I hope who wins it is the most deserving this time.

No doubt kvaratskelia’s impact to the Paris team in the last two seasons is unmatched to any other player in my opinion. I was expecting him to even win the best player of the tournament at the French league. But when it comes to ballon D’or I never rated him highly because I know here it’s more than just club side performance. If only he was from one of those nations that did well in the world cup he would probably stand that chance of being worthy of mentioned amongst the top 3 aside that I don’t think he deserves it more than every other player mentioned amongst the top 3 here.

[Plutomanian]

That's true many people don't know his importance to the team, they don't know what he offers the team that's why they underestimate him too much. Well despite him doing so much for the team he is still not fit to be in the discussion of winning the Balon Dor. Sometimes it takes more than just being a support.

I don't think Rodri deserves being mentioned than Kvaratskelia, Rodri only showed up one time and you think did more than enough? Playing well in just one tournament doesn't make him worthy. He played well but so did Kvaratskelia too in the champions league and domestic competitions. Enough of all this speculations I can't wait for that day it is announced. I hope who wins it is the most deserving this time.

No doubt kvaratskelia’s impact to the Paris team in the last two seasons is unmatched to any other player in my opinion. I was expecting him to even win the best player of the tournament at the French league. But when it comes to ballon D’or I never rated him highly because I know here it’s more than just club side performance. If only he was from one of those nations that did well in the world cup he would probably stand that chance of being worthy of mentioned amongst the top 3 aside that I don’t think he deserves it more than every other player mentioned amongst the top 3 here.

Khvicha Kvaratskelia is one of the top players every manager would want to have on their team. Paris Saint Germain are having one greatest moment in their history with winning the UEFEA Champions League trophy back to back, they're not letting things die down because they've proven to be the very best. The Balon D'OR, I think Khvichakvaratskelia should be more valued than Rodri because he was very effective this season.

While for Rodri, he's a top midfielder, box to box and filled with technicality. I'm just saying, every candidates that's been nominated for the Balon D'OR deserves it, we're talking about players like Kylian Mbappe, Lamine Yamal, Harry Kane and others.

[blomen]

there are only three weeks left until the ballon d'or. since i last checked, harry kane’s lead as the favorite seems to have narrowed a bit. although he’s still ahead of lamine yamal, i think their recent performances have affected the odds. however, i don’t think their performances so far this season have influenced the ballon d’or rankings. people might think, psychologically, that the player who’s performing well right now should win, but i think harry kane will win. i’ve been saying this from the start.

[Btcdeybodi]

Khvicha Kvaratskelia is one of the top players every manager would want to have on their team. Paris Saint Germain are having one greatest moment in their history with winning the UEFEA Champions League trophy back to back, they're not letting things die down because they've proven to be the very best. The Balon D'OR, I think Khvichakvaratskelia should be more valued than Rodri because he was very effective this season.

While for Rodri, he's a top midfielder, box to box and filled with technicality. I'm just saying, every candidates that's been nominated for the Balon D'OR deserves it, we're talking about players like Kylian Mbappe, Lamine Yamal, Harry Kane and others.

Khvicha Kvaratskelia is one dangerous player that PSG is blessed with. He does his things silently and the results stands him out. Of course Khvicha Kvaratskelia is a better player than Rodri but we know how the Balloon d'or rankings normally works. We shouldn't even be talking about Rodri anymore when talking about potential Balloon d'or candidates. Lamine Yamal and Kylian Mbappe will surely have the highest votes but the more days goes, Lamine Yamal is still proving why he deserves the prestigious award. Last Balloon d'or award, Lamine Yamal lost it to Ousmane Dembele. This time around I don't think he will lose to Mbappe.

[sergiorus]

Of course Khvicha Kvaratskelia is a better player than Rodri but we know how the Balloon d'or rankings normally works.

How do you even compare an attacking winger and a central defensive midfielder?

And no anyway, no other CDM is currently even close to Rodri. Very possibly he's even the best CDM in history.

Khvicha is a brilliant player, but even at the moment he's replaceable/has equally great players on his position.

[SmartCharpa]

In my opinion, people tend to underestimate the impact of Kvicha Kvaratskhelia at Paris Saint Germain. Sure, they are a fantastic team, but Kvara is absolutely devastating, and if they have won two Champions Leagues, it’s only because he’s added an absolutely devastating element of unpredictability. So, yes, all the great players you mention from Yamal to Kane to Rodri but I think the Georgian deserves it in the long run.
Then there’s the fact that Yamal won the World Cup with Spain, but if we look closely, Rodri would have been more decisive than him just think of how he shut down Oliseh in the semi final, single handedly halting the French attack. Absolutely incredible.

I think everyone refuses to talk about Kvaratskhelia because they didn’t qualified for the World Cup. The World Cup is one of the opportunity to win the Ballon d’Or, and the Kvaratskhelia didn’t play at the World Cup. If you consider his performance for his national team, it’s very disappointing compared to what we see at PSG. But if we have to talk about his overall performances for PSG for the last two seasons, he deserves the award more than any PSG player because he is one of the reasons why they won it for the last two seasons.

Moreover, other players also deserve it because of their performance at the World Cup, and how they continue to play this season. I believe Fabian Ruiz deserves the Ballon d’Or as well. He won the Champions League and other important trophies. I hope the award is given to who deserves it at the end.

[OsaiEmma]

Of course Khvicha Kvaratskelia is a better player than Rodri but we know how the Balloon d'or rankings normally works.

How do you even compare an attacking winger and a central defensive midfielder?

And no anyway, no other CDM is currently even close to Rodri. Very possibly he's even the best CDM in history.

Khvicha is a brilliant player, but even at the moment he's replaceable/has equally great players on his position.

This is 1 point most of us here making these comparisons are missing. Kvaratskhelia no doubt is a great player, he plays an attacking winger's role, but he's not the best attacking winger right now. We have Yamal, Dembele, Olise, Saka, Cheki; there are a lot of wingers doing crazy things in that position.

[coinlary]

Tf is wrong with Mbappe, what made him to even think he has the best chance to win the Ballon d'or this time. Even  

He's won 2 Pichichi already since his arrival in La Liga, just like he's been winning the Golden Boot at PSG, yet Dembélé got there after Mbappé left and already won the Ballon d'Or. Don't you think that alone is already enough to frustrate him into doing all sorts just to get his hands on the Ballon d'Or?

On the other hand, Mbappé alone can't bring the Champions League to Bernabéu. The fact that the reason why he left for Real Madrid, which is to win the Champions League (to help him get the Ballon d'Or) isn't working, is another frustration on its own.

[JiiBs]

Tf is wrong with Mbappe, what made him to even think he has the best chance to win the Ballon d'or this time. Even  Real Madrid knows that he can't win it , if not they would have made proper campaign for him.

Just a reminder that the Ballon d'or is 21 days away

The fact that his the best player Real Madrid has got with France as well, of course he’s going to come under the impression that his got a real chance at this. Besides, he didn’t do so badly at the World Cup and with politics haven’t creeped so badly into FIFA, his got to evaluate what is possible and make efforts to have this in the bag.

One player I keep wondering why he was left out on making the list remains Micheal Olise. He just showed today another reason why he ought to have being considered in this.

[Hewlet]

[...]

Okay, I'm going to stop this discussion now because I've seen that you just hate Yamal.
Yamal has shown up in 9 out of 10 big games he plays. France, Croatia, England, Atletico, Madrid, Bayern, Inter, England.
I should have known since you consider goals as the only thing that constitutes a good performance. You saying Yamal only shows up against small teams is enough reason for me to stop discussing football with you.

You people keep shouting "PR" like a player that is average will have the PR 

On the contrary, I actually like Yamal. I watch some of Barcelona games and I have friends that are fans of Barcelona/Yamal and like you, none of the arguments FOR Yamal they gave hold up. Yamal plays exciting football and so does others on the list. Btw, you mentioned Inter Milan and England but Yamal didn't score against them in the period being considered for the Ballon D'or.

We all know Yamal is a highly talented player; his style of play excites us all. However, he is still at the beginning of his career, and I believe it is too early for him to win the Ballon dor.

what kind of analogy is this? where is it written that if a player is the most qualified to win the ballon d'or that he should be denied it just because he is still young and still has other years to play? what happens if he looses form? what if injury comes in? If you are rating Lamine yamal, rate him independent of his age because age and the quality that a player has doesn't always correlate.

Age was not a factor when he carried his club and country to winning league games and the world cup when other more experienced players where in same contest with him.