Ballon d'Or 2026: bookmakers name the clear favorite

While several candidates have been engaged in a fierce race for the 2026 Ballon d’Or for weeks, the Iberian press and bookmakers have identified a clear favorite.

The debate surrounding the 2026 Ballon d’Or has been repeatedly featured in the press in recent days. Although the season that has just ended produced a very open race involving several candidates who could claim the award, the individual honor is more fiercely contested than ever.

Harry Kane has made no secret of the fact that he would like to win the Ballon d’Or. Lamine Yamal, meanwhile, is confident. This is understandable, given that voting to elect the next 2026 Ballon d’Or winner officially closed on Tuesday. The overall winner has already been decided by the ballots. The Spanish press claims that Lamine Yamal has regained favorite status to win his first 2026 Ballon d’Or. While first place had seemed destined for Harry Kane, who was still given a 56% chance of winning on Sunday evening compared with Lamine Yamal’s 28%, a major turnaround is believed to have taken place in recent hours.

Read also: Ballon d'Or 2026: Anthony Gordon sees the winner coming from Yamal and Kane

Yamal has indeed moved to the top of the bookmakers’ predictions with a 45% chance of being crowned, pushing the English Bayern Munich striker into second place with 42%, according to the Iberian outlet. This was surely the result of Spain’s victory over England on Saturday (3-2). In that match, the Catalan player stood out by scoring the opening goal, while Harry Kane missed a penalty that would have allowed England to take the lead.

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.