Ballon d'Or rankings 2026: Top candidates, potential award winners with Harry Kane, Lamine Yamal favourites
Ballon d'Or rankings 2026: Top candidates, potential award winners with Harry Kane, Lamine Yamal favourites originally appeared on The Sporting News . Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here . Widely considered the most coveted individual award in football, the Ballon d'Or remains a highly anticipated event each year.
Handed out annually in October to the best player in world football the previous season, the Ballon d'Or is the pinnacle of individual football achievement, and it's a the dream of every top player in the world to be honored at the gala. After Ousmane Dembele won the 2025 Ballon d'Or for leading Paris Saint-Germain to its first-ever European title, all the top performers are hoping to register a strong season in their own attempt to hoist the famous trophy. The Sporting News takes a detailed look at who leads the race for the 2026 Ballon d'Or award, and who could be in the mix at the end of the season and after the FIFA World Cup to come in the summer.
MORE: A look back at the 2025 Ballon d'Or gala as it happened, and a full list of results Ballon d'Or rankings 2026: Top candidates, potential award winners Here are the top 10 players in contention for the Ballon d'Or, ranked by how The Sporting News would hand out the award if the season were to end now. A reminder that performances and outcome at the 2026 World Cup will be considered when voting for the 2026 Ballon d'Or, and will go a long way towards determining the eventual winner. Rankings, stats, and assessments as of Thursday, April 16, 2026.
MORE: A deep dive explaining why Raphinha should have won the 2025 Ballon d'Or 10) Vitinha (CM, Paris Saint-Germain) At his very best, Vitinha is undoubtedly one of the three finest midfielders in the world. The 26-year-old's performances down the stretch of the 2024/25 season saw him rocket up the Ballon d'Or list, where he finished an impressive third. Vitinha is astonishingly press-resistant in possession and can pass as well as anyone around the world, able to unlock opponents anywhere on the pitch.
He can also snipe a goal from long range, as he has shown consistently on the European stage this season. The problem for Vitinha this season, as well as any PSG player, has been their inconsistency in league play. While the Parisians have remained a force in Europe looking to defend their Champions League crown, they have looked vulnerable in Ligue 1 action, barely clinging to a one-point lead atop the table as Luis Enrique has tried to battle fixture congestion with heavy rotation in domestic matches.
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