Full Ballon d’Or Rankings
Harry Kane has won the 2026 Ballon d’Or, with Kylian Mbappe finishing second and Lamine Yamal third. Lionel Messi, 39, finished fifth, while Rodri secured fourth place. Kane became the first English player in 25 years to win the men’s Ballon d’Or at a ceremony held at London’s Palladium on Monday.
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia finished sixth, followed by Ousmane Dembele in seventh, Erling Haaland in eighth, Michael Olise in ninth and Fabian Ruiz in 10th.
The top 10 featured Bayern Munich’s Kane and Olise, Real Madrid’s Mbappe, Barcelona’s Yamal and Rodri, Inter Miami’s Messi, Paris Saint-Germain’s Kvaratskhelia, Dembele and Ruiz, and Manchester City’s Haaland.
Jude Bellingham finished 11th, followed by Pau Cubarsi in 12th, Achraf Hakimi in 13th, Vitinha in 14th, Declan Rice in 15th, Ferran Torres in 16th, Vinicius Junior in 17th, Marc Cucurella in 18th, Joao Neves in 19th and Willian Pacho in 20th.
Gabriel Magalhaes finished 21st, Lautaro Martinez 22nd, Nuno Mendes 23rd, Luis Diaz 24th, Marquinhos 25th, Dayot Upamecano 26th, Bruno Fernandes 27th and Julian Quinones 28th. Sadio Mane and William Saliba shared 29th place.
Kane’s victory was the biggest highlight of the rankings. He scored 61 goals for Bayern Munich across all competitions in the 2025-26 season. Including his goals for England, his tally reached 73, and he also provided eight assists.
He played a key role in helping Bayern retain the German league title and win a domestic treble. He also scored 14 goals in the UEFA Champions League, helping the team reach the semi-finals.
Kane scored 36 goals in the German league, 14 in the Champions League, 10 in German cup competitions and 12 for England. He netted six goals at the 2026 World Cup, becoming England’s highest scorer in the tournament’s history and surpassing Gary Lineker.
Messi’s fifth-place finish was also notable. At 39, he secured a place among the world’s top five players once again. The four players ahead of him were Kane, Mbappe, Yamal and Rodri. Kvaratskhelia, Dembele, Haaland, Olise and Ruiz completed the top 10.
The voting period for the 2026 Ballon d’Or ran from August 3, 2025, to July 19, 2026, the date of the World Cup final. A panel of 100 specialist journalists voted in the men’s category.
Three main criteria guided the voting: individual performance and decisive contributions in matches; team achievements and trophies won; and players’ conduct and sporting spirit.
The 2026 ceremony marked the 70th edition of the Ballon d’Or and the first time the event was held outside France. London hosted the ceremony, recalling the achievement of Sir Stanley Matthews, the English football legend who became the first Ballon d’Or winner in 1956.
France Football introduced the award in 1956, and it has been organised jointly with UEFA since 2024.
