Ballon d’Or 2026: Lionel Messi, Yamal and Mbappe among the favourites; how the winners are decided

Lionel Messi will attend the 67th Ballon D’Or Ceremony at the Theater Du Chatelet on October 30, 2023 in Paris. Ballon d’Or winners will be announced on Monday, with a new generation of football stars led by Lamin Yamal and Kylian Mbappé hoping to win the award that has been dominated by Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo for years.At 39, Messi is still in contention for football’s greatest individual honor following his World Cup performances. As attention increasingly shifts to a potential Yamal-Mbappé rivalry, Harry Kane’s remarkable shooting form could delay the start of a new era by another year.The women’s award will have a new winner after Barcelona and Spain midfielder Aitana Bonmati, who has won the honor for the past three years, missed out on the shortlist following a broken leg in December.Two-time winner Alexia Putellas is the favorite to win the award for the third time.Here’s everything you need to know about the Ballon d’Or, which means Golden Ball in French.Where and when is the Golden Ball ceremony held?The ceremony will take place at the London Palladium on Monday at 20:00 GMT. It is the first time the annual event has been held outside of France since 2015 and the first time it will be held in London.This year marks the 70th anniversary of the awards, which were introduced by the French magazine France Football in 1956. The Women’s Ballon d’Or was founded in 2018.

Favorite to win the Ballon d’Or

From the 30-man shortlist for the men’s award, four players emerged as the main candidates: Yamal, Mbappé, Kane and Messi. They are competing for the trophy won by Ousmane Dembélé last year.Named the best young player in each of the last two years, Yamal is well placed to win his first Ballon d’Or after helping Spain win the World Cup and Barcelona to the Spanish title.Meanwhile, Mbappé was expected to become the best player in the world long before that. He won the 2018 World Cup with France at the age of 19, but his position in the Ballon d’Or rankings has slipped in recent years. He finished seventh last year.The French forward had an excellent individual season last term and also became the top scorer in World Cup history. However, his inability to lead Real Madrid or France to trophies could cost him in the vote.Kane’s case is different. The England captain broke goalscoring records in Germany as he won titles with Bayern Munich. He was also among the leading performers at the World Cup, where England finished third.

Messi refuses to leave the interview

Many expected Messi to disappear from the Ballon d’Or race after moving to Major League Soccer (MLS) to play for Inter Miami. However, the Argentine, widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, continued to make his presence known.He led Miami to their first MLS Cup last season before producing another impressive World Cup campaign with Argentina. Messi helped his country to one win and secure back-to-back World Cup titles.Argentina eventually lost the final to Spain, but Messi once again played a major role in the tournament.

Putellas is favorite to win the women’s award

Putellas is favorite to win the Women’s Ballon d’Or after returning to her best form to help Barcelona win the Champions League and the Spanish title before joining the London City Lionesses.The Spain international has suffered ligament damage in the past and during this time Bonmati has become a leading name in women’s football. Putellas now has the chance to return to the top by winning the award for a third time, although Bonmati’s absence through injury means he will not face the three-time defending champion.Other leading candidates include Manchester City striker Khadija Shaw and Barcelona’s Claudia Pina.

How is the Ballon d’Or decided?

The winner of the Ballon d’Or is decided by a vote involving one journalist from each of the top 100 countries in the FIFA rankings.The criteria include individual and team performances, “decisive and impressive character” and “class and fair play”.Each journalist selects 10 players from the 30 nominees and ranks them in order. The first choice gets 15 points, while the 10th gets one point. The player with the highest total wins the Ballon d’Or.If players complete a level on points, the number of first place votes determines the winner. If a tie remains, second-place votes are considered, followed by the following positions.

Kane’s recent form does not factor into the award

Kane continued to score at an impressive rate, with records falling.He became the fastest player to score 100 goals in the Bundesliga last month, reaching the milestone in just 98 games.His early season form has fueled his interest in the Ballon d’Or. However, there is one important limitation: the election period ended after the World Cup. The official period lasted from August 3, 2025 to July 19, 2026.Kane’s performances and trophies this term have already made him a serious contender. If the opening weeks of the current campaign were included, his case for being named the best player in the world would be even stronger.

The players with the most Golden Ball wins

Messi holds the record with eight Ballon d’Or titles, the last of which came in 2023. Ronaldo is second with five wins, last winning the award in 2017.Michel Platini, Johan Cruyff and Marco van Basten won the trophy three times each.