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The historic 2026 World Cup is in the books, with Spain lifting the trophy after a hard-fought extra-time win over Lionel Messi's Argentina in the final at MeLife Stadium on Sunday, July 19.
Coming off the largest World Cup in history, soccer's biggest stars will rest up for a few weeks before turning their attention to their club seasons. Most European leagues officially kick off in August and September for campaigns that last all the way through May.
The Ballon d'Or is the sport's greatest individual prize, awarded annually to the best player in the world, as voted on by an international panel of soccer journalists. The 2026 award will cover the "year" that began on Aug. 1, 2025 and runs through the end of July 2026 – meaning the entire club season and World Cup.
Relive 'America's World Cup' with our commemorative book
Lionel Messi has won the award eight times, more than any other player, and will surely be on this year's shortlist – but the frontrunners are looking like Spain's Lamine Yamal and England's Harry Kane for their club and international exploits.
Here's a look at some of the favorites for the 2026 award:
Bundesliga stats: 36 goals in 31 games
The World Cup didn't end the way Kane wanted, but the man should have a knighthood coming and further solidified himself as the greatest England player of all time this summer. Kane was the Bundesliga's top scorer and the 32-year-old's unbelievable club stats paired with his international heroics, might make him the favorite to become England's first Ballon d'Or winner since Michael Owen in 2001.
La Liga stats: 16 goals in 28 games, 11 assists
Crowned world champion just a few days after his 19th birthday, Yamal also had his most productive club season to date with 16 goals and 11 assists, winning La Liga with Barcelona. Last year's runner-up, Yamal's late-season injury ahead of the World Cup cost him a month and slowed him down early in the tournament.
La Liga stats: 28 goals in 32 games
Now the World Cup's all-time leading scorer(!), Mbappe had a stellar individual year but Real Madrid endured an extraordinarily rocky season. An absolute all-time performance (again) at the World Cup with 10 goals – and another Golden Boot – but not even a third-place medal to show for it
The 2024 Ballon d'Or winner only played 21 Premier League games as he continued to recover from a major ACL injury and that's the reason the 30-year-old is unlikely to become a two-time winner – despite captaining Spain to a world championship.
Gear Spain championship gear!
The reigning Ballon d'Or winner was limited by injuries and his production dropped off (10 goals in 22 games), but the 29-year-old helped PSG win the Champions League for the second year in a row. Then, he went out and socred six goals at the World Cup, including a hat trick.
The eight-time Ballon d'Or winner led Inter Miami to its first-ever MLS Cup championship and won the league's Golden Boot for the 2025 season. Then he did his thing at the World Cup with eight goals, but Argentina failed to repeat and he won't even get to ride off into the sunset as the all-time leading scorer after being usurped by Mbappe.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Who will win Ballon d'Or? Six favorites for soccer's biggest award in 2026
Continue reading...
Coming off the largest World Cup in history, soccer's biggest stars will rest up for a few weeks before turning their attention to their club seasons. Most European leagues officially kick off in August and September for campaigns that last all the way through May.
The Ballon d'Or is the sport's greatest individual prize, awarded annually to the best player in the world, as voted on by an international panel of soccer journalists. The 2026 award will cover the "year" that began on Aug. 1, 2025 and runs through the end of July 2026 – meaning the entire club season and World Cup.
Relive 'America's World Cup' with our commemorative book
Lionel Messi has won the award eight times, more than any other player, and will surely be on this year's shortlist – but the frontrunners are looking like Spain's Lamine Yamal and England's Harry Kane for their club and international exploits.
Here's a look at some of the favorites for the 2026 award:
Harry Kane – England, Bayern Munich
Bundesliga stats: 36 goals in 31 games
The World Cup didn't end the way Kane wanted, but the man should have a knighthood coming and further solidified himself as the greatest England player of all time this summer. Kane was the Bundesliga's top scorer and the 32-year-old's unbelievable club stats paired with his international heroics, might make him the favorite to become England's first Ballon d'Or winner since Michael Owen in 2001.
Lamine Yamal – Spain, FC Barcelona
La Liga stats: 16 goals in 28 games, 11 assists
Crowned world champion just a few days after his 19th birthday, Yamal also had his most productive club season to date with 16 goals and 11 assists, winning La Liga with Barcelona. Last year's runner-up, Yamal's late-season injury ahead of the World Cup cost him a month and slowed him down early in the tournament.
Kylian Mbappe – France, Real Madrid
La Liga stats: 28 goals in 32 games
Now the World Cup's all-time leading scorer(!), Mbappe had a stellar individual year but Real Madrid endured an extraordinarily rocky season. An absolute all-time performance (again) at the World Cup with 10 goals – and another Golden Boot – but not even a third-place medal to show for it
Rodri – Spain, Manchester City
The 2024 Ballon d'Or winner only played 21 Premier League games as he continued to recover from a major ACL injury and that's the reason the 30-year-old is unlikely to become a two-time winner – despite captaining Spain to a world championship.
Gear Spain championship gear!
Ousmane Dembele – France, Paris Saint-Germain
The reigning Ballon d'Or winner was limited by injuries and his production dropped off (10 goals in 22 games), but the 29-year-old helped PSG win the Champions League for the second year in a row. Then, he went out and socred six goals at the World Cup, including a hat trick.
Lionel Messi – Argentina, Inter Miami
The eight-time Ballon d'Or winner led Inter Miami to its first-ever MLS Cup championship and won the league's Golden Boot for the 2025 season. Then he did his thing at the World Cup with eight goals, but Argentina failed to repeat and he won't even get to ride off into the sunset as the all-time leading scorer after being usurped by Mbappe.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Who will win Ballon d'Or? Six favorites for soccer's biggest award in 2026
Continue reading...
