Ballon d'Or 2026: the great campaign for football's most coveted individual prize

The Ballon d'Or is football's greatest individual accolade and the thirst to win it has grown in recent years. The 2026 edition arrives in a very special year: the World Cup shapes the race for the prize and candidates multiply their public presence to convince the voters.

• Ousmane Dembele won the 2025 Ballon d'Or and leads a list of 10 PSG players nominated this year.
• Lamine Yamal insists he will not beg for anything, although he remains one of the big favourites.
• Luis Enrique confesses he is bored of the Ballon d'Or despite PSG's record representation.
• Harry Kane aims to become the first English winner in 25 years and only the fifth of all time.
• The vote is cast by one journalist from each of the top 100 countries in the FIFA ranking.

The Ballon d'Or 2026 machine gets rolling

Barely had Ousmane Dembele settled back into his chair at Paris' historic Theatre du Chatelet with the gold-dipped orb in hand when campaigns for the 2026 edition began to whirr into action. Entourages took positions and the media fed the debate about who deserves to succeed the French winger.

European football expert Guillem Balague summed up the situation clearly: the Ballon d'Or is discussed every single day. In his view, the award reflects a society that puts the emphasis on the individual, because it is easier to understand a dribble than to grasp why a collective works.

Clubs and players roll out their promotional machine

French football journalist Julien Laurens warns that the PR machine some clubs and players will use cannot be underestimated in the final stretch towards the gala. Managers and sporting directors talk up their charges and question why other names from their squads missed the 30-man shortlist.

Deco, Barcelona's sporting director, branded it a huge scandal that Raphinha and Pedri missed out, but backed Lamine Yamal as the overwhelming favourite. The academy product insisted he will not beg for anything, even though last year he admitted dreaming of winning many Ballons d'Or.

PSG tops the list with 10 candidates and a friendly rivalry

Paris Saint-Germain places 10 footballers on the shortlist, a record figure. Luis Enrique confessed he is bored of the Ballon d'Or, perhaps to keep out of the debate. Meanwhile, Dembele and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia praised each other on the club's social channels.

Dembele joked about cutting the prize in two and said his teammate deserves it for his exceptional season. Kvaratskhelia responded with the same generosity: of course it is him. In Georgia, the 'Kvara d'Or' campaign celebrated the country's favourite fleet-footed son.

The post-Messi and Ronaldo era: a prize more open than ever

Kylian Mbappe, compared by Real Madrid boss Jose Mourinho to the original Ronaldo, was less subtle than most in his pitch to win the award for the first time. The French striker proclaims himself the best, although he acknowledges that everyone has their own opinion and that journalists vote.

The Frenchman explained that his idea of the Ballon d'Or comes from the Messi-Ronaldo era, when the prize went to different players and not to ordinary footballers. Between 2008 and 2023, the pair collected 13 trophies in 15 years. Brazil's Kaka was the last winner before that duopoly, in 2007.

Harry Kane and the chance to end a 25-year drought

Harry Kane aims to become the first English winner since Michael Owen in 2001 and only the fifth of all time. The England captain was cautious about his chances, although he admitted it would be a massive achievement. The ceremony will be held in London to mark 70 years since Stanley Matthews won the inaugural prize.

Kane has done his share of interviews, but others, such as Rio Ferdinand on Bayern's official accounts, have made his case for him. The striker is vying to become the Bavarian club's first winner since Karl-Heinz Rummenigge's second straight triumph in 1981. No Bundesliga player has won it since Matthias Sammer in 1996.

The commercial and media value of winning the Ballon d'Or

Sports brand strategist James Kirkham compares the build-up to an election campaign: candidates go out, canvass and shore up voting blocks from certain countries. Not everyone shares that approach. Bayern board member Max Eberl championed Kane and Michael Olise but said the best players are the ones who do not need to run a campaign.

Jean-Pierre Papin, the 1991 winner, launched a direct criticism at Mbappe: he likes him a lot and he is a record-breaker, but there comes a point when it is all about me, me, me. The impact of the award goes far beyond personal recognition. Ariedo Braida, former AC Milan executive, said Kaka's value increased fivefold after winning in 2007.

Today everything moves at the speed of light. Media exposure is absolutely crucial. With the advent of social media, the world has changed radically compared to my day.

Michael Owen's case shows how much everything has changed. In 2001, at 22, he did not even know what the Ballon d'Or was when Gerard Houllier called with the news. He posed for a photoshoot at Melwood two weeks before the images were distributed and received the trophy on the Anfield pitch before a game against Derby County.

From a European prize to a global phenomenon

The Ballon d'Or was launched in 1956 and only admitted European players until 1995, when George Weah became the first and so far only African winner. In 2007 the award opened up to footballers from any club in the world and it was not until 2011 that it was presented at a glamorous ceremony. The women's prize arrived in 2018.

Michael Owen was the first winner from an English club since George Best in 1968. In that in-between period, Italian, Spanish and German teams dominated. Liverpool broke the news with a call the striker did not expect to understand.

Ballon d'Or snubs also leave a mark

Absences from the roll of honour sting. Franck Ribery said it felt like a robbery when he missed out to Cristiano Ronaldo in 2013. Real Madrid boycotted the 2024 ceremony when they learned Rodri would win instead of Vinicius Junior. In Brazil, the commotion was enormous, according to Globo journalist Caique Andrade.

Robert Lewandowski lived through an especially cruel situation in 2020. The Polish striker was the big favourite after winning all six trophies with Bayern, including the Champions League, but the ceremony was cancelled because of the Covid-19 pandemic. A year later he finished runner-up to Messi.

Lewandowski himself described the prize as part football and part politics, more commercial than The Best FIFA Men's Player award. Kirkham expands on that idea: the social noise is deafening, relentless and all-consuming, with a domino effect across every format and platform. A comment on a broadcast becomes tweets, videos, reels and headlines that generate narratives for or against a candidate.

Frequently asked questions about the Ballon d'Or 2026