August 24, 2026
With the official 30-man shortlist for the 2026 Ballon d’Or set to be unveiled, the debate over who will lift football’s most prestigious individual award in Paris has reached a fever pitch.
A thrilling 2025–26 campaign, capped by a dramatic summer at the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America, has set up one of the most unpredictable and tightly contested voting races in recent memory.
The jury of top-100 FIFA-ranked international journalists will weigh extraordinary individual output against silver-laden team achievements. Here is how the top five favourites rank ahead of the shortlist announcement.
5. Lionel Messi
