We bring you the Ballon d'Or odds. As we power through the World Cup, the odds are changing all the time...
As soon as Ousmane Dembele was awarded the 2025 Ballon d’Or, the speculation began about the 2026 iteration.
We bring you the odds, with 2025 runner-up Kylian Mbappe up there with the boy who could be his nemesis for club and country. A couple of what we thought were left-field predictions are included.
As we power through the World Cup, the odds are changing all the time…
Who are the favourites to win the 2026 Ballon d’Or?
9=) Desire Doue (PSG/France)
As one of the players who could pull off a Champions League and World Cup double, this is a real possibility. Would probably lose out to more starry Frenchmen, mind.
9=) Lionel Messi (Inter Miami/Argentina)
Could he? He bloody could, you know. He might still be among the very best players in the world. Which must absolutely kill Ronaldo.
8) Vitinha (PSG/Portugal)
He was third last year and really must take heart from Rodri’s 2024 win that a defensive midfielder can win the big prize…if he wins the World Cup. We cannot believe we live in a world where Roberto Martinez could win the World Cup, and yet here we are…
6=) Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (PSG/Georgia)
It won’t happen because World Cup but the Georgian winger is a proper player and now has two Champions League medals.
6=) Declan Rice (Arsenal/England)
That performance against Bayern Munich woke up the rest of Europe to the player who could be the best midfielder in the world. But he probably needs England to win the World Cup and that feels very far away right now. Especially as he has played a hell of a lot of football this season.
4=) Lamine Yamal (Barcelona/Spain)
“Lamine Yamal is the best player in the world by far. It’s not just because he’s my son, but because he’s the best player in the world.”
That might be so, Lamine Yamal’s dad, but that’s not exactly how this works. He needs to go and win more trophies in 2026, preferably including the World Cup. He has claimed La Liga but that won’t be enough.
4=) Kylian Mbappe (Real Madrid/France)
He presumably thought that he would dominate the post-Messi/Ronaldo era, but he is yet to claim his first Ballon d’Or. Two years after arriving at Real Madrid, he is also yet to claim a proper trophy in Madrid colours. But he is absolutely brilliant in the World Cup.
2=) Michael Olise (Bayern Munich/France)
We thought it was a left-field choice in December but the bookies had obviously done the maths and calculated that the mercurial Frenchman could have been central to both Champions League and World Cup glory. He is a very, very special footballer.
2=) Ousmane Dembele (PSG/France)
Absolutely do not rule out a repeat. It’s been a season punctuated by injury but he has somehow still scored 20 goals, including seven in the knockout stages of the Champions League and one in the final. Also, France have a very, very good chance of winning the World Cup.
1) Harry Kane (Bayern Munich/England)
Can lay claim to being the most consistent goalscorer in world football over the last decade and yet he has never ranked higher than 10th in the Ballon d’Or. Does pure goalscoring butter no parsnips? He’s the top scorer of 2026 so far by an absolute mile, but he probably needs England to win the World Cup. That feels more possible after that 4-2 win over Croatia.
