Ballon d’Or: Mbappé, Yamal and Kane lead a three-way race

The Ballon d’Or heads into Monday’s ceremony in London with the outcome uncertain and three leading contenders in the frame. Kylian Mbappé, Lamine Yamal and Harry Kane are at the forefront of a race that has yet to produce a winner. The award is decided by journalists: one representative from each of the top 100 countries in FIFA’s men’s ranking votes, alongside one representative from each of the top 50 countries in the women’s ranking.

The ceremony will reveal the successor to Ousmane Dembélé. In the previous season, the Frenchman retained his Champions League title, but his individual level did not reach the heights of his performance the season before, leaving the contest to succeed him wide open.

The figures put forward for Harry Kane add weight to his case. The striker scored 61 goals for Bayern Munich, who reached the semi-finals of the European competition. Including his goals for England, third at the 2026 World Cup, his tally rises to 73. Aged 33, Kane says he is trying not to be consumed by the Ballon d’Or race, while admitting it is hard to ignore. After Wednesday’s 2-2 draw against Arsenal, he said: « I’m trying not to think about it, but it’s difficult », adding: « I’ll try to enjoy Monday evening as much as possible. »

That measured approach differs from the comments of his rivals. Lamine Yamal said he sincerely believed he deserved the award, pointing to the titles he had won, including the Spanish championship and the World Cup. Mbappé, meanwhile, is relying on his individual statistics after finishing as top scorer in the Spanish championship with 25 goals and the Champions League with 15. He won no team titles. Hespress Sport says he also finished as the all-time leading scorer at the World Cup with 22 goals, ten of them at the 2026 edition. The French star said: « I was the top scorer in the biggest competitions, and I think this year could be good for me; I have a positive feeling about it. »

The women’s award is also open. Bonmatí will relinquish her crown after injuries disrupted her 2025-2026 season and kept her off the field for an extended period. Alexia Putellas, the winner in 2021 and 2022, is competing alongside Ewa Pajor and Claudia Pina, her former Barça teammates, as well as Melchie Dumornay and Khadija Shaw. A new award, titled « Ballon d’Or for the best of all time », will also go to a former winner who has claimed the trophy at least twice, based on an electronic public vote.