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Ballon d'Or 2026: the favourites 10 days before the World Cup
Back-to-back... in back-to-back?
The 2025-2026 club season came to an end this Saturday evening, with Paris Saint-Germain triumphing in the Champions League once again.
With the World Cup kicking off in exactly ten days, and with it looking set to be hugely important in the race for the 2026 Ballon d'Or, OneFootball brings you an update on the battle for the ultimate individual prize ahead of the final moment of truth!
Ousmane Dembélé / France & PSG
Who could have imagined, last December, that Ousmane Dembélé, the reigning Ballon d'Or holder, would find himself among the favorites, ten days before the start of the World Cup, for the 2026 award?
PSG's number 10 has just put together five exceptional months with the club, obviously highlighted by that historic Champions League double.
Ousmane Dembélé this year is: one goal in the first leg of the round of 16 against Chelsea, a brace in the second leg of the quarter-final at Anfield, three goals against Bayern across the two-legged semi-final, and a goal in the final.
Solid.
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Franco Arland - 2026 Getty Images
Vitinha / Portugal & PSG
Third in the 2025 Ballon d'Or, Vitinha can logically aim for an even better finish in 2026 after this new Champions League title.
Imagine Portugal winning the World Cup, then it would be hard to see PSG's number 17 not lifting the trophy.
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Justin Setterfield - 2026 Getty Images
Michael Olise / France & Bayern Munich
With 22 goals scored and 26 assists delivered for Bayern Munich this season, Michael Olise quite possibly has the most complete statistical record of the 2025-2026 campaign.
If the French diamond produces an all-time great 2026 World Cup, Bayern Munich's semi-final failure in the Champions League could well fade into the background...
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Alexander Hassenstein - 2026 Getty Images
Harry Kane / England & Bayern Munich
It's a fairly similar story for Harry Kane.
With 61 goals scored and seven assists provided for Bayern this season, the English striker is inevitably among the favorites for the 2026 Ballon d'Or.
An England triumph and a few goals at the World Cup would very likely send Harry Kane to the top of world football!
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Stuart Franklin - 2024 Getty Images
Lamine Yamal / Spain & Barcelona
If Lamine Yamal wants to claim the 2026 Ballon d'Or, there is no alternative: he will need to produce a le-gen-da-ry 2026 World Cup!
Barcelona's quarter-final elimination in the Champions League currently makes a coronation for the Spanish wonderkid impossible.
But the World Cup can change everything!
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David Ramos - 2026 Getty Images
Kylian Mbappé / France & Real Madrid
Like Yamal, Kylian Mbappé's club season will not be enough for him to get his hands on the holy grail.
For Kyks, there's no choice: he will have to leave it all out there this summer at the World Cup!
And that works out well, because in just two appearances, Mbappé has already etched his name forever into the history of this mythical competition.
Another all-time great World Cup and the Ballon d'Or could start coming seriously into view...
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STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN - AFP or Licensors
This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in here.
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