2026 Ballon d'Or: CIES Football Observatory reveals the winner

We are just a few hours away from the ceremony for the 70th edition, being held in London. And the suspense surrounding the identity of the next Ballon d'Or winner is total. The CIES Football Observatory has published its ranking.

Between speculation surrounding Kylian Mbappé, Harry Kane’s impressive statistics and Lamine Yamal’s trophies, there are several factors currently fueling the debate around the Ballon d'Or. The 2026 edition is wide open, and no candidate has truly pulled clear, with arguments in favor of each contender.

CIES gives Yamal the award

In the final hours before the ceremony, the CIES Football Observatory published its ranking for the 2026 Ballon d'Or. According to the ranking, Lamine Yamal remains in first place. The organization assessed outfield players’ performances over the past 12 months based on three criteria: their level in eight areas of the game, the quality of the matches played and the results achieved.

Yamal leads Michael Olise, who is second after a highly successful year with Bayern Munich, and his teammate Harry Kane. Lionel Messi occupies fourth place and remains the oldest player in the top 50. The Argentine would even have topped the ranking if the level of the matches had not been taken into account.

Read also: Clasico: what went wrong for FC Barcelona

Behind this quartet, Désiré Doué rises to fifth place, ahead of Kylian Mbappé in sixth and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia in seventh. The top 10 also includes two other Barcelona players, Pedri and Pau Cubarsí, as well as Erling Haaland.

Joshua SOSSOU

Editorfr, en, ar

As a sports fan, and particularly a football fan, I've been putting my writing talent to good use for a number of years now to promote African talent and the continent's football in general. On Foot Africa, enjoy reading each of my lines.