Ballon d'Or 2026 Power Rankings

It won't be long before the 2026 World Cup is done and dusted, and we'll have a much clearer idea about which three players will occupy first, second and third spots on the 2026 Ballon d'Or podium.

Will Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo make a shock return to football’s pedestal? In a World Cup year, almost anything is possible. Both players will become serious contenders if Argentina or Portugal lift the World Cup trophy on July 19.

Paris Saint-Germain will have several players in contention after winning this season's Champions League at the expense of Arsenal, who were crowned Premier League champions for the first time since 2004.

In the past, the prestigious individual accolade was based on the performance of footballers across a calendar year. However, this time around, for the fourth time in the award's history, the votes are based on the results of the season.

With that in mind, we've listed - and ranked - the 20 players who are best placed to win the 2026 Ballon d'Or based on their respective team's chances of success as well as their current form.

We've determined the order based on the following:

Trophies won/challenged for (expected to)

By the standards Erling Haaland set in his first season at Manchester City, his follow-up campaigns may, on the face of it, have seemed a little underwhelming - that's even though he still claimed the Premier League Golden Boot in one of his next two terms. However, he came flying out of the blocks this season and looked set to enjoy another record-breaking campaign.

While Haaland was prolific during the first half of the season, the Norwegian struggled for goals around the turn of 2026 but is now firmly back in business now that we're in the final stretch.

Haaland was part of the Man City team that defeated Arsenal in the Carabao Cup final on March 22 and beat Chelsea to win the FA Cup final on May 16, assisting against the Blues. He also scored the winning goal against Arsenal on April 19 - but ultimately that goal didn't prove significant in the Premier League title race.

Liverpool's decision to let Luis Diaz leave Anfield for Bayern Munich is looking increasingly suspect by the week. Arne Slot may argue that the Colombian winger wanted to depart the club in the summer, and so a sale made sense for all parties, but the Reds have missed him throughout the 2025/26 campaign.

Liverpool's loss has been Bayern's gain. In 51 games this season, Diaz chipped in with 26 goals (including three against PSG at the Parc des Princes) and 23 assists. However, Bayern's failure to win the Champions League this season, as well as the fact that Colombia are unlikely to win next summer's World Cup, means he isn't a frontrunner for the Ballon d'Or.

Is there a better all-action midfielder or set-piece maestro in world football right now? Real Madrid's Federico Valverde runs Declan Rice close, but the Arsenal and England star has had no equal over the course of the 2025-26 season. Nobody is questioning that £100 million transfer fee now, following his big-money transfer from West Ham in 2023.

Rice has now inspired Arsenal to their first Premier League title since 2004. If he can help England go far at the 2026 World Cup finals, then it'll become a very realistic possibility that he'll be on the Ballon d'Or podium this year. There's a long way to go, of course, but right now he's right up there among the best midfielders on the planet.

Undoubtedly one of the best midfielders in world football right now, Vitinha's ridiculous quality in the middle of the park will only improve further as he's still only 26. The Paris Saint-Germain star has elevated from struggling at Wolves to consistently being in Ballon d'Or conversations.

Alongside Joao Neves, he runs every single game he takes part in, with his unmatched intelligence and silky technical ability making the Portuguese an absolute joy to watch. After winning the Champions League with a Player of the Match performance against Arsenal in the final, he also plays for a country that is capable of winning the World Cup, which always helps.

It feels like an inevitability that at some point in his career, Kylian Mbappe will stand on top of the podium lifting the famous golden ball. The French forward has been touted as a future successor to Messi and Ronaldo - but now in his mid-20s, he's edging closer to cementing his status as the world's best footballer with an absurd amount of goals to his name season-on-season.

Mbappe, who scored 256 times for Paris Saint-Germain across 305 appearances, took a few months to get going at Real Madrid after joining last summer.

But after having won the European Golden Shoe last term with 31 goals in 34 La Liga games, and having now managed to notch 42 goals in 44 appearances across all competitions this term, the Frenchman is blitzing his way to being the crème de la crème.

Real Madrid have endured a rare trophyless season, but Mbappe will still be among the frontrunners if France win the World Cup this summer. He got off to a stunning start, scoring twice in his team's 3-1 opening group game win over Senegal, which makes him France's all-time top goal scorer (on 58 goals, now ahead of Olivier Giroud).

Kylian Mbappe for Real Madrid in 2025/26

Michael Olise has shot up the rankings in recent months due to his red-hot form for Bayern Munich. While his team came up short in the Champions League, the ex-Premier League winger will be playing for one of the favourites to win the 2026 World Cup in the summer - and he's already bagged a domestic double for Bayern.

If the 22-goal Frenchman can fire his country to major silverware, he'll undoubtedly be one of the most likely candidates to bring home the Golden Ball. His incredible 31 assists make him the best playmaker in Europe currently. Olise showcased his scintillating form on the eve of the World Cup with a sublime hat-trick for Les Bleus in an international friendly against Northern Ireland and there's every chance he'll shoot further up these rankings over the coming weeks, having picked up an assist in France's 3-1 win vs Senegal.

Michael Olise for Bayern Munich in 2025/26

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia never fails to dazzle supporters every single time he steps onto the pitch. The Georgian wizard is a master at 1 vs 1 situations, striking fear into opposition full-backs.