The Ballon d’or 2026
The best player in the world. Who’s next?
The Ballon d'or is a trophy, awarded to the best soccer player in the world. All the best players—Messi, Ronaldo, Zidane, Ronaldinho, Luka Modric, and more—have achieved this trophy. Every year, the best of the best is awarded with the golden soccer ball. This year, Ousmane Dembele was awarded with this golden trophy. But who will take home this symbol of greatness in 2026?
I gathered up some candidates that are possibly the ones who will pick up the trophy in 2026. We have Lamine Yamal, Kylian Mbappe, and Harry Kane. All these players have played remarkably well. Let’s start off with Yamal.
Lamine Yamal, an 18 year old who plays for FC Barcelona, was almost picked for the Ballon d’or this year. The only reason Yamal lost in 2025 was because Dembele had more experience. But Yamal has improved over the past year and is one of the best players in Barcelona now. He used to be number 19 but had his number changed to the most iconic number in soccer, number 10. Players like Messi, Pele, Maradona have worn this number, and is worn by the team’s best playmaker, and midfielder. Other numbers like 7 and 9 are very popular too, and are worn by wingers and strikers. He’s scored 18 goals in his career and is known for his creative style of play on the field. He has great decision-making, fantastic soccer intelligence, amazing dribbling, and goal scoring ability as a winger. Even though he’s only 18, he made it to one of the top in the whole league. Who knows what he's going to be in a few years.
Next, we have Kylian Mbappe. Mbappe has played in AS Monaco and Paris Saint Germain (PSG), and is currently in Real Madrid. He also plays for the France national team and has won a world cup in 2018. Experience wise, Mbappe is way past Yamal with 256 goals for PSG, and already 15 goals with Real Madrid. Mbappe is also wearing the number 10, the same as Yamal. Before, people saw Mbappe on the same level as Messi and Ronaldo. Mbappe uses his fantastic dribbling skills, tactical intelligence, his absolute speed, and his amazing goal scoring ability to get the ball to the back of the net. Striker definitely fits his style. Now after Messi and Ronaldo are out of the Champions League, Mbappe might be on the top. He’s scored an absurd number of goals and is definitely a contender for the Ballon d’or.
Finally, Harry Kane. He’s played in Tottenham and Bayern Munich, which he is currently on. Harry Kane has scored 627 goals, and earned many trophies. He has way more experience than Yamal or Mbappe. He’s 32 and has played as a pro for 14 years. He’s a great striker and a captain. In 2023, he became the nation’s top goalscorer and reached 2nd place for the all-time Premier League scoring charts after scoring 213 times for Tottenham. After he moved to Bayern Munich, he scored 20 goals in the first 12 games. A massive success. He’s at least scored more than a goal per game! Harry Kane is a great playmaker and goal scorer. He can take the ball himself and score goals. Also, he can create great chances for his teammates to score a goal. He’s accurate and has great vision on the field. Harry Kane is definitely a contender for the ballon d’or 2026, but only if he continues his performance.
I personally think Lamine Yamal is going to win the Ballon d’or. He was a runner-up in 2025, so he probably has the highest chance to win the trophy. Dembele, 2025’s winner, could definitely have a chance to win it again, but he already won the Ballon d’or last year, so he’ll have to play better than he did in 2025. And I think Dembele was at peak there. Lamine Yamal however, is not even fully grown. He probably still has a long time until his peak. Even if Yamal can’t win this year, he will be way better next year, and will definitely become the best player in the world. Mbappe and Harry Kane are already in their 20s and 30s. Yamal has pulled Barcelona into a lot of victories. That was when he was 17. Now he’s 18, the age when many go to college (even though he will probably not go to college because of his illustrious soccer career). Although Yamal hasn’t scored many goals, he’s very intelligent with and without the ball. If you see him on TV, as soon as he receives the ball, he can instantly bring it into the other team’s 18-yard box. There is no doubt that the Ballon d’or will be in Lamine Yamal’s hands, in 2026.
