2026 Ballon d’Or Nominees Ranked From 30th to 1st By 100 Experts

The 2026 Ballon d’Or ceremony is almost upon us, with 30 top-class players eagerly waiting to see if they will be crowned the best footballer in the world.

Lionel Messi is remarkably among the favourites, with the veteran Argentine looking to secure an unbelievable ninth Golden Ball. Meanwhile, Lamine Yamal and Harry Kane are in contention to win the individual honour for the first time ever.

The 30 nominees for the award were named back in September, and they’ll all be heading to London on October 26 for the ceremony. But where will they each finish in the standings?

Well, The Athletic have surveyed 100 anonymous football experts to figure that out. These people range from past and present coaches and players, sporting directors, scouts and presidents. Each expert picked their top 10, with the points system giving 15 points per first-place vote, 12 for second, 10 for third and so on.

30th – 21st

REUTERS/Juan Barbosa

There are several players who have been all but ruled out by the expert voters. Julian Quinones, Willian Pacho and Lautaro Martinez struggled to get any votes, and are propping up the table here.

Elsewhere, playing a key role in winning the World Cup doesn’t count for much in this vote, just ask Marc Cucurella (25th) and Ferran Torres (24th).

Nuno Mendes, Vinicius Junior and Marquinhos just miss out on the top 20, despite two playing huge parts in Paris Saint-Germain retaining the Champions League in 2026.

20th – 11th

REUTERS/David Klein

With the nightmare start to the new season Manchester United have made, it might be surprising to see Bruno Fernandes in 15th place, ahead of Luis Diaz (18th), Achraf Hakimi (19th) and Premier League winner Gabriel (20th).

However, the Portuguese star broke Thierry Henry’s long-standing record for the most assists in a single Premier League campaign in the 2025-26 season. He even scooped the PFA Player of the Year award ahead of Arsenal’s title winners.

But Declan Rice, who narrowly missed out on that award, has been given a better chance at the biggest individual honour on the planet. The Arsenal and England midfielder is 13th in the rankings with 104 points.

Fabian Ruiz, who won the Champions League and World Cup, is comfortably ahead of his English peer. Vitinha is the closest to making the top 10 but just misses out despite earning 217 points from the voting system.

10th – 1st

REUTERS/Rodrigo Valle

Every man in the top 10 has a valid argument for why they should be handed the Ballon d’Or this year. Jude Bellingham in 10th, for example, was one of the standout players as the Three Lions finished 3rd at the World Cup. He even outscored Harry Kane.

Current holder Ousmane Dembele and his PSG teammate Khvicha Kvaratskhelia were crucial to Luis Enrique’s side conquering Europe once again. The latter has perhaps been held back by Georgia’s failure to qualify for the World Cup.

Erling Haaland scored a ridiculous number of goals for Manchester City and Norway, while Rodri was the standout player during Spain’s ascent to becoming world champions for the first time in 16 years. The former teammates have to settle for eighth and sixth, respectively.

It won’t be a fairytale year in the outstanding career of Lionel Messi, either. His surreal performances for Argentina over the summer at 39 years old speak volumes about how impressive the man still is. But his 498 points are only enough for a fifth-placed finish.

French duo Michael Olise (646 points) and Kylian Mbappe (728) miss out on the top two places after France’s failure to win the World Cup. Had Les Bleus emerged triumphant in July, these two would be the hot favourites.

That leaves the two favourites in many people’s eyes. Harry Kane is expected to become the first Englishman to win the Ballon d’Or since Michael Owen in 2001, according to the experts.

Lamine Yamal has almost completed football at 19 and is perhaps the best player on the planet right now, but may have to wait at least another year to win the prestigious award.