The glittery stardust may have only just settled after the 2025 ceremony in Paris in September, but the list of early favourites for next year’s men’s Ballon d’Or trophy are already beginning to take shape.
An award that typically favours players at the top end of the pitch, it is perhaps unsurprising that attackers dominate the list of front-runners to lift the most prestigious individual prize in world football.
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Ballon d’Or 2026 power ranking: the bookies’ odds for the award
All odds from Betfair
1. Lamine Yamal (4/1)
Lamine Yamal of Barcelon (Image credit: Alvaro Medranda/Quality Sport Images/Getty Images)
The stratosphere, let alone the sky, seems to be the limit for Lamine Yamal. Barcelona’s generational teenage talent, who has broken numerous records since making his debut at 16, was pipped to the trophy by Ousmane Dembele at the most recent ceremony.
However, the 18-year-old still made history on the night, becoming the first player to win the Kopa Trophy – the award for best player under the age of 21 – in consecutive years after helping the Catalan club claim a domestic treble.
Yamal, who tops the list of FourFourTwo’s best right wingers in the world right now, recently declared: “I don’t dream of one Ballon d’Or, I dream of many. If I don’t get them, it will be my fault.”
Should he continue on his current career trajectory, it may be difficult to disagree.
2. Kylian Mbappe (5/1)
Kylian Mbappe celebrates after scoring for Real Madrid (Image credit: Getty Images) (Image credit: Getty Images)
By his lofty standards, Kylian Mbappe’s start to life at the Bernabeu was rather slow.
It’s a statement that in hindsight feels rather redundant given the fact the Frenchman went on to bag 42 goals in all competitions and topple the record for the most goals scored in a debut season at Real Madrid.
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Suffice to say, he seems to have found his feet in Spain. And having already netted 12 goals in 10 games this season – including eight in seven league matches – it seems that Mbappe is back to his best and could be on course to improve on his third-place finish in the 2023 Ballon d’Or.
3. Ousmane Dembele (6/1)
Ousmane Dembele was a standout for PSG last season (Image credit: Getty Images) (Image credit: Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
Having scored 35 goals in 53 appearances in all competitions for a PSG team that won almost everything there was to win last season, it was hardly a shock that Ousmane Dembele scooped the 2025 Ballon d’Or in Paris earlier this month.
The 28-year-old was an instrumental cog in Luis Enrique’s relentlessly breathtaking machine as the Parisian club enjoyed a treble-winning campaign, which included lifting the Champions League for the very first time.
Should Dembele and PSG have a similarly fruitful season this term, few would bemoan the 28-year-old defending his crown.
4. Vinicius Junior (7/1)
Real Madrid and Brazil’s Vinicius Junior (Image credit: Getty Images) (Image credit: Getty Images)
After finishing second in the 2024 Ballon d’Or, Vinicius Junior’s talents may have been eclipsed by the likes of Yamal and Dembele over the past 12 months. But the Brazilian remains a special talent who can get fans out of their seats with his dazzling footwork.
While Los Blancos endured a largely underwhelming campaign last season, the 25-year-old chipped in with 22 goals and 19 assists in all competitions last season. Having already bagged three goals and four assists this term, the forward’s name could well be back among the big boys by the time the 2026 ceremony rolls around.
=5. Cole Palmer (8/1)
Cole Palmer has been a key figure for Chelsea since making the move from Manchester City (Image credit: Getty Images) (Image credit: David Ramos/Getty Images)
Still just 23, Palmer’s stock has been rapidly rising since he made the move to Stamford Bridge from Manchester City in 2023. During that time, the forward has been a key part of a resurgent Chelsea team that has lifted the Conference League, Club World Cup, and returned to the Champions League this season.
Should he stay fit and firing on all fronts, the answer to the above question could well be a resounding ‘yes’.
=5. Erling Haaland (8/1)
Erling Haaland in action for Manchester City (Image credit: Getty Images) (Image credit: Getty Images)
Tied with Palmer in fifth place in the bookies’ odds is the towering Norwegian. While Manchester City had plenty of miserable moments last season, Erling Haaland still had an impressive individual return with 34 goals in all competitions.
The 25-year-old has started this campaign with a bang, scoring nine goals already in just seven appearances. Should he continue in that form, and with Norway on the brink of a first World Cup finals appearance since 1998, it may not be that much of a stretch to say that Haaland could go one better than his runner-up spot in the 2023 Ballon d’Or.
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