Ballon d’Or 2026: Mbappé under pressure, Yamal and Kane leading
On the eve of the 2026 Ballon d'Or ceremony, which will be held in London, the suspense remains total: the Spanish Lamine Yamal and the English Harry Kane are eager to succeed Ousmane Dembélé, while Kylian Mbappé appears as the main outsider.
Favorites and outsider
Lamine Yamal, young prodigy of FC Barcelona, and Harry Kane, striker of Bayern Munich, are presented as the two main favorites to win the award. Their respective performances at club and international level have fueled the predictions.
"I've talked to fairly well-informed people. And they're starting to get the feeling that this is the direction we're heading," explained streamer Zack Nani on Sunday, referring to the rise of rumors around Mbappé.
Kylian Mbappé's presence at the London Palladium has been confirmed, even though most of the contenders will also be there. That same evening, the Real Madrid striker will face FC Barcelona in the Clasico, even though he did not win any major trophy the previous season, despite an aggressive media campaign.
"For me, a Ballon d'Or is not claimed, it is earned. We'll see within 24 hours whether it was right for him to go onto that pitch or not," said Pascal Ferré, former editor-in-chief of France Football, on RMC.
Papin puts Harry Kane ahead of Kylian Mbappé in the Ballon d’Or
Statistics and divergences
Kylian Mbappé scored 42 goals in 44 matches for Real Madrid in 2025/26, providing six assists, and was the top scorer of the Spanish league with 25 goals as well as the Champions League with 15 goals. In the World Cup, he scored ten goals and supplied four assists, winning the Chuteira d’or for the second consecutive World, but Real Madrid finished the season without a trophy, eliminated in the Champions League quarter‑finals, and France finished fourth.
Harry Kane tallied 61 goals and seven assists in 51 matches with Bayern Munich, adding six World Cup goals and bringing his season total to 73 goals in 65 matches. He was German champion, winner of the German Cup and the German Super Cup, but Bayern lost in the semi‑final against PSG, and England finished third in the World Cup.
Lamine Yamal, at 19, scored 24 goals and provided 17 assists in 45 matches for FC Barcelona, winning the Spanish league and the Spanish Super Cup, while lifting the World Cup with Spain, although he only scored one goal and had no assists in eight matches of the competition.
Ballon d’Or 2026 in London: fake rankings to hide the winner
One source claims that Ousmane Dembélé has already won the 2026 Ballon d'Or, while another indicates that the trophy remains open, without an undisputed favorite, highlighting the divergence of information before the award ceremony in London.
This contrast between dazzling individual statistics and the lack of collective titles for some, as well as the contradictory opinions on the winner, shows that the London ceremony will be decisive in settling the debate.