2026 Ballon d’Or: Updated Rankings After September 28 Voting Deadline Passed
- France Football closed voting for the 2026 Ballon d'Or on Monday, September 28, 2026, ending weeks of public debate over who deserves the trophy
- Harry Kane, Lamine Yamal, Kylian Mbappe, Rodri, and Lionel Messi are the top five contenders according to Polymarket Sports predictions
- PSG's Fabian Ruiz is the only player to have won the UEFA Champions League and the 2026 FIFA World Cup this year, yet he is not seen as a frontrunner
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France Football officially closed voting for the 2026 Ballon d'Or on Monday, September 29, 2026, bringing an end to weeks of speculation and online debate over football's most coveted individual honour, with the ceremony still about a month away.
The voting ran for three weeks after the 30-man nominees list was announced on September 28, giving the electorate time to make their choice.
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The decision on the Ballon d'Or winner now rests with France Football’s editor-in-chief after the journalists representing each of the top 100 countries on the FIFA ranking at the time the nominee list was published voted.
The two events that carry the most weight during this year's review period are the UEFA Champions League and the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Fabian Ruiz holds a unique distinction as the only player to have claimed both trophies in 2026, yet he does not feature among the frontrunners
Updated Ballon d'Or rankings
According to Polymarket Sports, the five players currently leading bookmakers' predictions are Harry Kane, Lamine Yamal, Kylian Mbappe, Rodri, and Lionel Messi.
The Bayern Munich striker Kane and Barcelona teenager Yamal have emerged as strong contenders, alongside Mbappe, Spain's World Cup-winning captain Rodri, and Inter Miami skipper Messi.
In the weeks leading up to the voting deadline, both Mbappe and Yamal publicly made cases for why they deserved to win the award, a move that drew mixed responses from fans online, with many arguing the lobbying was unnecessary.
The winner will be revealed at the Ballon d'Or ceremony, scheduled for London on October 26.
African countries eligible for Ballon d'Or votes
Legit.ng previously analysed the African countries eligible to vote in the 2026 Ballon d'Or on the eve of the voting deadline on September 28.
Ballon d'Or is voted for by a panel of journalists from the countries in the top 100 of the FIFA rankings, and only 21 African countries met the criteria in 2026.
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