Kylian Mbappe To Lamine Yamal And Harry Kane: Ranking 7 Favourites For 2026 Ballon d'Or

Kylian Mbappe is the favourite to win the Ballon d'Or in 2026. The French forward finished as the highest goal-scorer in La Liga as well as the UEFA Champions League last season but was not able to win even one trophy with Real Madrid. (Picture Credit: AP)

At the FIFA World Cup, Mbappe scored 10 goals in addition to providing 4 assists in eight matches for France. He won the Golden Boot, but France finished fourth in the 48-team tournament. (Picture Credit: AP)

Barcelona's Lamine Yamal finished second in the Ballon d'Or race last year, and in 2026, he is one of the top contenders. In the 2025-26 edition of La Liga, Yamal scored 16 goals in 28 matches and also scored 6 times in 10 Champions League matches. (Picture Credit: AP)

At the FIFA World Cup 2026, Yamal won the title with Spain and also scored one goal in their match against Saudi Arabia. (Picture Credit: AP)

England captain Harry Kane played a big role in his team's third-place finish at the FIFA World Cup 2026. The star striker scored six goals in the tournament this year and also provided one assist. (Picture Credit: AP)

At club level, Kane scored 61 goals in 51 matches across all competitions for Bayern Munich and won the Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal and German Super Cup. (Picture Credit: AP)

Eight-time Ballon d'Or winner Lionel Messi is also in the Ballon d'Or 2026 race. The 39-year-old scored 8 goals and provided 4 assists in eight matches at the FIFA World Cup 2026 for Argentina and led them to the final of the tournament. (Picture Credit: AP)

He has scored 72 goals in 81 matches for Inter Miami across all competitions since the start of 2025 and won the Campeones Cup. (Picture Credit: AP)

Jude Bellingham impressed with his performances at the FIFA World Cup 2026 and finished as the highest goal-scorer for England. He played all eight matches and scored 7 goals in addition to providing one assist. He also represented Real Madrid in La Liga and the Champions League but was not able to win even one trophy. (Picture Credit: AP)

Erling Haaland made his FIFA World Cup debut in 2026 and scored 7 goals to help Norway qualify for the quarter-finals. In this year's FIFA World Cup, Haaland scored a brace to knock five-time champions Brazil out of the tournament. (Picture Credit: AP)

At club level, he finished as the highest goal-scorer in the Premier League and scored 38 goals in 52 matches for Manchester City across all competitions. Last season, Haaland won the FA Cup and Carabao Cup. (Picture Credit: AP)

The 2025 Ballon d'Or winner, Ousmane Dembele, is in the race for the top prize this year as well after impressive performances at the FIFA World Cup. Dembele scored 6 goals and provided two assists for Les Bleus in this year's tournament. (Picture Credit: AP)

With PSG, Dembele won Ligue 1, the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Super Cup in the 2025-26 season and was also named Ligue 1 Player of the Year. (Picture Credit: AP)