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

[Curious T]

It's not just me saying this; many people who know much more than I do are saying it too. I watch football, but there are some things in the Ballon d'Or that aren't well defined. It's easy for Messi to win, then. This competition is already very focused on the most political aspects possible, and I don't like that.

Mbappe is a player many people love. He has a lot of fans, so it's normal for many more people to say he deserves the balon dor. I watched Henry recently, and he said he is French, so he would definitely support Mbappe to win the Balon d'Or. For Harry Kane, people support him simply because they would rather he wins it than Lamine Yamal. Many people won't mind if anybody that is not Lamine wins it. We all know Mbappe was not the best player of last season.

I think that whoever scores the most goals is the one who stands out the most. In other words, there's no need to overthink it, otherwise the Ballon d'Or will be won by goalkeepers.

Mbappe scored the most goals in La Liga why didn't he win the Player of the season in La Liga? Harry Kane scored the most goals for Bayern and England, why didn't he win the best player of the season in the German league, or the Bayern Munich or England player of the season? Why did Olise and Bellingham win those awards over a player that scored a ton of goals? Even in the world cup, since goals are the only metric that should be used, why did Mbappe win the player of the tournament? If goals alone were not enough to win any of these tournaments, why should it be enough to win the Ballon d'Or?

[Ale88]

Hehe, that’s about right. But you know, in any unclear situation, it makes sense to bet on Messi, since he has a long history of receiving "strange" awards and close friendships (or at least favoritism from) officials who influence the distribution of awards. If a person doesn't follow football, then for him there is essentially no difference between the Spanish/Italian championship or the Mickey Mouse League.

I understand what you mean, and it's true because, for example, the 2010 Ballon d'Or they gave him was absolutely ridicolous, that was supposed to go to either Sneijder or Milito because they had an incredible season with Inter (and Sneijder with the Netherlands too). And this is coming from a Juventus supporter.

But, again, I don't see how considering a 39-year-old player who is playing for fun in the USA is even a remote possibility. Sure, the World Cup, but if playing 7-8 matches is enough to win then they better to stop giving this prize away, it's embarrassing.

And of course I don't forget what they did to Lewandowski too.

[nelson4lov]

I have no idea what the award is for. It's not like this is the last Ballon d'Or award as there would be more in the future. That means we would need another BOAT to be awarded sometime in the future. And yes, I agree that they made up the award just to stir up drama on social media and so far it is working.

Whoever wins it but in my view, it's a useless award.

It’s not entirely clear why there’s a need for extra buzz on social media, given that this year’s Ballon d’Or is already one of the most talked-about - precisely because the winner is far from obvious.
As for it being useless, I disagree with you there too - the BOAT is absolutely no different from any other Ballon d'Or, it’s a subjective award. All subjective awards carry the same weight.
It looks like Ronaldo will receive the award, it’s impossible to fairly overtake someone in the voting who has already secured 75% of the votes. But as I understand it, he won’t be at the ceremony, I wonder who will be authorized to accept it on his behalf.

You're not wrong but let me share why I did say it was a useless award. At the time, I thought it was a permanent, one-time trophy. A one-time trophy wouldn't have made any sense since there would be more ballon d'Or in the future.

Anyway, my sights are set for Monday. Happy to see either Harry Kane or Mbappe get the Ballon d'Or award.  
 

[HustleZ]

I have no idea what the award is for. It's not like this is the last Ballon d'Or award as there would be more in the future. That means we would need another BOAT to be awarded sometime in the future. And yes, I agree that they made up the award just to stir up drama on social media and so far it is working.

Whoever wins it but in my view, it's a useless award.

I mean its obvious that the France Football Federation is trying to benefit for the last time from the rivalry of messi and Ronaldo, because this award is kinda messed up. Because why is piers morgan buying more than 300000 votes. This is a pay to win award and it has been emphasised by the Balon dor officials that it is not an official award, rather just a fan voting. Whatever the case, they are winning alot of $

[Fiatless]

No matter who wins the award, the debate will continue. The main reason for this is that the process itself is controversial. The process for selecting candidates has not yet become reliable, which is why when one player wins the Ballon d'Or, the supporters of other players start arguing. You think that if Harry Kane wins the award, there will be no debate, you are wrong. If Harry Kane wins the award, you will see that the supporters of Lamine Yamal and Mbappe have created arguments. The process of selecting qualified candidates has not yet been able to instill trust in the minds of people, I also have doubts about the process.

We might not have much debate this year because among the three players, none is more outstanding. Mbappe, Kane, and Yamal seem to be in the same class, making the selection for the winner difficult. It would not be the case in 2024, when many fans thought Vinicius Júnior deserved the award that was given to Rodri. There were also cries of foul play in 2020 when Lionel Messi won the Ballon d'Or. Meanwhile, it was widely believed that Robert Lewandowski deserved it. Any of the three top contenders who win the award this year deserve it.

[Agbam]

I really don’t understand why Kylian Mbappe and Lamine Yamal is fighting over the Ballon D’Or, I think the best players in the World doesn’t need campaign to win this accolade, when Messi and Ronaldo was winning the award it was for their performance in the season, but I must say the both player who are fighting for this accolade doesn’t deserve to win it, Mbappe didn’t do enough to win this award, and Lamine Yamal didn’t do enough to win this award. Let’s take away sentiment, Rodri is the player that deserves to win this award, considering his performance at the World Cup, where he won the best player at the just concluded World Cup, if I have an opportunity to vote I will definitely vote for Rodri, because he is an all around player who is the backbone of his team, Spain wouldn’t have won the World Cup without Rodri, Lamine Yamal wasn’t even performing well at the World Cup, I wonder why Mbappe and Yamal are fighting over an accolade they do not deserve, Messi stand a better chance of winning this award compared to this guys fighting with words and Campaign. My top two is Rodri and Messi to win this Ballon D’Or.

My friend, what did Rodri and Messi actually do last year to make them your top two candidates for the Ballon d'Or?
Why these two when there’s Kane? If Kane doesn't win it, it would be a surprise regardless of who else takes it. Yamal didn't do anything extraordinary for Barcelona last year.
Rodri spent most of the beginning of the season injured and didn't really achieve anything with his club either. As for Messi, if it weren't for the referees favoring him so heavily during the World Cup, he wouldn't have even reached the final.
Aside from Kane, it would be a surprise if anyone else won it.

In this forum there are users who probably only watched a few football games during the World Cup and that's it, they have no idea what to write but yet they have to reach a certain number of posts so they just write nonsense stuff. Spain won the World Cup? Rodri was the captain? Great! Messi scored a lot of goals against Tunisia, Jordan, and other weak teams? Who cares, that's enough to win the Golden Ball!
The simple idea to propose as Golden Ball winner a player who plays in the MLS is an insult to the football world.

Well everyone is entitled to their opinions and we all feel right in our standards. There will always be criticism of Messi as well as of Ronaldo but for you to downplay Messi’s effort at the World Cup as playing against weak teams, there are no weak teams at the World Cup my friend. Argentina had nothing up their sleeves but Lionel Messi, you could literally see it in every of their games, he carried the whole team at 39.
Because Messi plays for Miami at the MLS has nothing to do with his World Cup performance. If you say you watched the World Cup and Messi doesn’t deserve the golden ball, fine ! You have your opinion but I think you’re lying to yourself, just like FIFA did to hide from the banter from people like you.

For the Ballon D’or, Messi and Rodri doesn’t deserve it as well, they had a good World Cup. Messi has been great for his club but it’s just a low rated league, he would have been a contender if he had won the World Cup and Rodri wasn’t there for most part of the season with Manchester City.

[Cryptoprincess101]

No matter who wins the award, the debate will continue. The main reason for this is that the process itself is controversial. The process for selecting candidates has not yet become reliable, which is why when one player wins the Ballon d'Or, the supporters of other players start arguing. You think that if Harry Kane wins the award, there will be no debate, you are wrong. If Harry Kane wins the award, you will see that the supporters of Lamine Yamal and Mbappe have created arguments. The process of selecting qualified candidates has not yet been able to instill trust in the minds of people, I also have doubts about the process.

We might not have much debate this year because among the three players, none is more outstanding. Mbappe, Kane, and Yamal seem to be in the same class, making the selection for the winner difficult. It would not be the case in 2024, when many fans thought Vinicius Júnior deserved the award that was given to Rodri. There were also cries of foul play in 2020 when Lionel Messi won the Ballon d'Or. Meanwhile, it was widely believed that Robert Lewandowski deserved it. Any of the three top contenders who win the award this year deserve it.

You're correct, Lamine Yamal, Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappe are all prospective nominees, if one of them wins the Ballon d'Or there will be no tension at all because they all merit the award, non of them is more award worthy than the others even though Lamine Yamal seems to have more advantages since he added a trophy recently which is the World Cup. Those years you mentioned and the players that emerged the Ballon d'Or winners was very controversial but we should understand that it's not what viewers and fans sees from the outside that determines what happens on the award day.

[Taricoins]

No matter who wins the award, the debate will continue. The main reason for this is that the process itself is controversial. The process for selecting candidates has not yet become reliable, which is why when one player wins the Ballon d'Or, the supporters of other players start arguing. You think that if Harry Kane wins the award, there will be no debate, you are wrong. If Harry Kane wins the award, you will see that the supporters of Lamine Yamal and Mbappe have created arguments. The process of selecting qualified candidates has not yet been able to instill trust in the minds of people, I also have doubts about the process.

We might not have much debate this year because among the three players, none is more outstanding. Mbappe, Kane, and Yamal seem to be in the same class, making the selection for the winner difficult. It would not be the case in 2024, when many fans thought Vinicius Júnior deserved the award that was given to Rodri. There were also cries of foul play in 2020 when Lionel Messi won the Ballon d'Or. Meanwhile, it was widely believed that Robert Lewandowski deserved it. Any of the three top contenders who win the award this year deserve it.

I don't believe that some people still push the propaganda that Messi robbed Lewandowski of his Balon D'Or when in 2020 the Ballon d'Or didn't even hold because of the covid 19 pandemic, I think we should change the narrative and not push fake information, it's bad luck for Lewandowski but Messi deserved all the Ballon d'Or he has.

As for this year's winner, I like the suspense and the competition as the can't really fully guess the winner between the three

[tiCeR]

...

You're correct, Lamine Yamal, Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappe are all prospective nominees, if one of them wins the Ballon d'Or there will be no tension at all because they all merit the award, non of them is more award worthy than the others even though Lamine Yamal seems to have more advantages since he added a trophy recently which is the World Cup. Those years you mentioned and the players that emerged the Ballon d'Or winners was very controversial but we should understand that it's not what viewers and fans sees from the outside that determines what happens on the award day.

They are all on an incredible level, but Kane is above them as a human being. I think he deserves it the most.

Yes I a a fan of Yamal or Mbappe, but the way how Harry Kane works, how how he gives interviews, how he represents football, I think this should count too. He was the best player in my eyes, Mbappe and Yamal will still get their shot in the future.

[Obim34]

You're correct, Lamine Yamal, Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappe are all prospective nominees, if one of them wins the Ballon d'Or there will be no tension at all because they all merit the award, non of them is more award worthy than the others even though Lamine Yamal seems to have more advantages since he added a trophy recently which is the World Cup. Those years you mentioned and the players that emerged the Ballon d'Or winners was very controversial but we should understand that it's not what viewers and fans sees from the outside that determines what happens on the award day.

Well, imagine Lamine Yamal winning the Ballon d'Or before Mbappe. The award doesn't define a player, whoever wins i agree, deserves it. All the nominated players are all I love and wish for any of them to win. However, I love for Harry Kane to win the Ballon d'Or over Lamine Yamal and Kylian Mbappe. From the way i see the ceremony approaching, Mbappe looks like the top gee for the award.

[sergiorus]

No matter who wins the award, the debate will continue. The main reason for this is that the process itself is controversial. The process for selecting candidates has not yet become reliable, which is why when one player wins the Ballon d'Or, the supporters of other players start arguing. You think that if Harry Kane wins the award, there will be no debate, you are wrong. If Harry Kane wins the award, you will see that the supporters of Lamine Yamal and Mbappe have created arguments. The process of selecting qualified candidates has not yet been able to instill trust in the minds of people, I also have doubts about the process.

We might not have much debate this year because among the three players, none is more outstanding. Mbappe, Kane, and Yamal seem to be in the same class, making the selection for the winner difficult. It would not be the case in 2024, when many fans thought Vinicius Júnior deserved the award that was given to Rodri. There were also cries of foul play in 2020 when Lionel Messi won the Ballon d'Or. Meanwhile, it was widely believed that Robert Lewandowski deserved it. Any of the three top contenders who win the award this year deserve it.

I don't believe that some people still push the propaganda that Messi robbed Lewandowski of his Balon D'Or when in 2020 the Ballon d'Or didn't even hold because of the covid 19 pandemic, I think we should change the narrative and not push fake information, it's bad luck for Lewandowski but Messi deserved all the Ballon d'Or he has.

As for this year's winner, I like the suspense and the competition as the can't really fully guess the winner between the three

There was 2021 though, when Lewandowski should have been given it. He even became FIFAs Best Player of the Year for the second time in a row and besides it would be fair to consider the combined performance of 2020+2021 since Ballon d'Or was cancelled in 2020. So yeah, definitely robbed.

Robbed Iniesta/Snejder in 2010, robbed Van Dijk in 2019, robbed Lewandowski in 2021, robbed Haaland in 2023. At least 4 of his Ballon d'Ors are robberies in the broad daylight and I would honestly argue for one more (2012) but it's not that obvious.

[Ale88]

Well everyone is entitled to their opinions and we all feel right in our standards. There will always be criticism of Messi as well as of Ronaldo but for you to downplay Messi’s effort at the World Cup as playing against weak teams, there are no weak teams at the World Cup my friend.

Are you sure there are no weak teams in the World Cup? I challenge you to name a single player from countries such as Jordan, Tunisia, Cape Verde (of course Vozinha doesn't count since he became famous during/after the WC), Qatar, Haiti, Curaçao, Saudi Arabia and Iraq for example. Not too many, just one per team. I bet you can't. So are you still sure Jordan are a big team?

Argentina had nothing up their sleeves but Lionel Messi, you could literally see it in every of their games, he carried the whole team at 39.
Because Messi plays for Miami at the MLS has nothing to do with his World Cup performance. If you say you watched the World Cup and Messi doesn’t deserve the golden ball, fine ! You have your opinion but I think you’re lying to yourself, just like FIFA did to hide from the banter from people like you.

The Ballon d'Or, in theory, is awarded to the best player over a full football season. Messi was on holiday in the US for 90% of the season, then he played in the World Cup. Are you really telling me that playing 7-8 matches in a season is enough to win the Ballon d'Or? Because to me it looks like an insult for all the other players who play in competitive leagues.

[nelson4lov]

~Snipped

I mean its obvious that the France Football Federation is trying to benefit for the last time from the rivalry of messi and Ronaldo, because this award is kinda messed up. Because why is piers morgan buying more than 300000 votes. This is a pay to win award and it has been emphasised by the Balon dor officials that it is not an official award, rather just a fan voting. Whatever the case, they are winning alot of $

I don't think I have anything more to say about the award and I don't blame the organizers for trying to milk the Ronaldo vs Messi rivalry one more time. Just out of curiosity though, if Piers Morgan if buying votes for Ronaldo, does it mean that out of the millions of fans of Messi, they can't match what Piers Morgan is doing?

The truth is that whoever wins it is well deserved because everyone on that list (not just Ronaldo and Messi) all deserve to be there.

[danadc]

I don't think I have anything more to say about the award and I don't blame the organizers for trying to milk the Ronaldo vs Messi rivalry one more time. Just out of curiosity though, if Piers Morgan if buying votes for Ronaldo, does it mean that out of the millions of fans of Messi, they can't match what Piers Morgan is doing?

The truth is that whoever wins it is well deserved because everyone on that list (not just Ronaldo and Messi) all deserve to be there.

But what Cristiano did is symbolic; the one nominated for the Ballon d'Or is Messi, and given the current situation, he has a very good chance of winning it. Does Piers think he bought the votes? I would say no, because Cristiano has a huge following. When he created his YouTube channel, we realized that's the case.

The world loves Messi because he makes football seem like just a game for him, since he controls it as he pleases. But Cristiano identifies with most people because everything he achieves is hard-earned; he fights against the system. He's an ordinary person who doesn't have special patronage from the elites.

[Agbam]

Well everyone is entitled to their opinions and we all feel right in our standards. There will always be criticism of Messi as well as of Ronaldo but for you to downplay Messi’s effort at the World Cup as playing against weak teams, there are no weak teams at the World Cup my friend.

Are you sure there are no weak teams in the World Cup? I challenge you to name a single player from countries such as Jordan, Tunisia, Cape Verde (of course Vozinha doesn't count since he became famous during/after the WC), Qatar, Haiti, Curaçao, Saudi Arabia and Iraq for example. Not too many, just one per team. I bet you can't. So are you still sure Jordan are a big team?

So is your definition of weak team by how popular their players are? It’s just like the argument that because the premier league is the most popular and watched league, it is the best.
I may not be able to mention names of players from all those teams but the fact they qualified for the World Cup means they worked for it and they’re there because they won other teams. We have teams like Italy and Nigeria who didn’t make it even with all their popular players.

Argentina had nothing up their sleeves but Lionel Messi, you could literally see it in every of their games, he carried the whole team at 39.
Because Messi plays for Miami at the MLS has nothing to do with his World Cup performance. If you say you watched the World Cup and Messi doesn’t deserve the golden ball, fine ! You have your opinion but I think you’re lying to yourself, just like FIFA did to hide from the banter from people like you.

The Ballon d'Or, in theory, is awarded to the best player over a full football season. Messi was on holiday in the US for 90% of the season, then he played in the World Cup. Are you really telling me that playing 7-8 matches in a season is enough to win the Ballon d'Or? Because to me it looks like an insult for all the other players who play in competitive leagues.

So the football they play in the US is Vacation? Okay let’s say a man that was on vacation came to play with young lads who have been playing competitive football and still edged over them and that’s a simple feat to you?
By the way I’m not arguing that Messi should win the Ballon D’or but if he had won the World Cup he would’ve been a strong contender.

[alastantiger]

So is your definition of weak team by how popular their players are? It’s just like the argument that because the premier league is the most popular and watched league, it is the best.
I may not be able to mention names of players from all those teams but the fact they qualified for the World Cup means they worked for it and they’re there because they won other teams. We have teams like Italy and Nigeria who didn’t make it even with all their popular players.

Just because a nation qualified for the world cup does not mean they deserved it or they are the best team because some team are just fillers that is why they are going to the world cup to do. Other strong countries might not qualify because they were paired with other stronger country and they did not play better to win the games or still, the games did no just go in their favour and that is why they did not qualiy. There is always many weak teams in the world cup that do not pass the groups stage.

The top 30 list is out and rumours has it that Lamine Yamal is planning on throwing a party with family and friends after the award ceremony, it could be he has already been preinformed that he is going to win and that could be why he is planning on celebrating because the award Cameron is tomorrow, Monday.

[sotelorene]

Well, imagine Lamine Yamal winning the Ballon d'Or before Mbappe. The award doesn't define a player, whoever wins i agree, deserves it. All the nominated players are all I love and wish for any of them to win. However, I love for Harry Kane to win the Ballon d'Or over Lamine Yamal and Kylian Mbappe. From the way i see the ceremony approaching, Mbappe looks like the top gee for the award.

There was a post i saw yesterday on my WhatsApp status,  and someone said amongst all the players that won the world cup that non is qualified to win the Ballon D'or award and he posted the source of the information though I don't know how true that was but tomorrow we will know and see who gets to lift the award. If Lamine Yamal is no longer there perhaps Harry Kane will be the winner because of the advantage of trophies he has over Mbappe but I am not the chief judge just my opinion and observation.

[knowngunman]

There was a post i saw yesterday on my WhatsApp status,  and someone said amongst all the players that won the world cup that non is qualified to win the Ballon D'or award and he posted the source of the information though I don't know how true that was but tomorrow we will know and see who gets to lift the award. If Lamine Yamal is no longer there perhaps Harry Kane will be the winner because of the advantage of trophies he has over Mbappe but I am not the chief judge just my opinion and observation.

The criteria have changed now but no one can say anything for now until tomorrow. There is list circulating on WhatsApp since yesterday that shows Mbappe won the award with Harry Kane coming second and Lamine Yamal came third.

I don't need any proof to know it's fake. The gap between Mbappe and Harry Kane is 10 which is understandable but the gap between Mbappe (1st) and Lamine Yamal (3rd) is 400+ which is uncommon in Ballon d'Or voting. Yamal should not have that less votes after winning the league and World Cup. Tomorrow is not that far again, the truth will be revealed.

[KTChampions]

I’m surprised no one is talking about the shift that has taken place over the last 24 hours - Mbappé has overtaken Yamal, and the current odds are as follows:

Kane      - 70%
Mbappe  - 18%
Yamal     - 11%

In a market that evaluates the likelihood of who will end up higher - Mbappe or Yamal, Mbappe has become the clear favorite - 67%
https://polymarket.com/event/ballon-dor-2026-kylian-mbappe-or-lamine-yamal-to-finish-higher

Unexpected, right? Just a short while ago, Yamal was in the lead, but now he’s slipped back to third place. According to reports on Twitter citing insiders, the rankings are as follows: Kane, Mbappé, Yamal, Rodri, Messi. If it turns out to be exactly like that, the organizers of the award will need to seriously overhaul the mechanism for keeping things confidential until the official announcement of the results.

[Rabata]

Well, imagine Lamine Yamal winning the Ballon d'Or before Mbappe. The award doesn't define a player, whoever wins i agree, deserves it. All the nominated players are all I love and wish for any of them to win. However, I love for Harry Kane to win the Ballon d'Or over Lamine Yamal and Kylian Mbappe. From the way i see the ceremony approaching, Mbappe looks like the top gee for the award.

There was a post i saw yesterday on my WhatsApp status,  and someone said amongst all the players that won the world cup that non is qualified to win the Ballon D'or award and he posted the source of the information though I don't know how true that was but tomorrow we will know and see who gets to lift the award. If Lamine Yamal is no longer there perhaps Harry Kane will be the winner because of the advantage of trophies he has over Mbappe but I am not the chief judge just my opinion and observation.

There is no way to be sure about this issue by a single or several research and observation since it will depend on the journalists from different countries and the results of their votes. However, at the last moment of publishing the results, it seems that Harry Kane, not Lamine Yamal, will be ahead. In the case of Mbappe, despite repeated expectations, it is not being fulfilled. After Rodri in 2024 and Ousmane Dembele in 2025, maybe he has a chance this year too, but we will have to wait until tomorrow to see whether it will be implemented or not. However, according to the observations so far, Harry Kane's chances are much higher.