After Spain’s win over Argentina to win the World Cup, the race for the sport’s most prestigious individual prize is entering the final straight.
Lamine Yamal and Rodri, who won the award in 2024, have emerged as the protagonists for the world champions, handing them an edge over rivals after clinching the biggest team prize in the sport.
But other players are also in contention, including Lionel Messi, even at 39 years of age, having carried Argentina to a second successive final, although he missed out on the Golden Ball award to Rodri in Fifa’s post-final awards ceremony, while the reigning Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembele remains in contention after clinching back-to-back Champions League titles with Paris Saint-Germain, though the Independent’s Miguel Delaney maintained at the time that Yamal should have won.
Harry Kane, too, is in the running and the current favourite, backing up his Bayern Munich form with England this summer with six goals and emerging as the country’s all-time top scorer in the World Cup.
Here are the contenders and latest odds for the top individual prize in the sport, with the gala ceremony set for London on 26 October:
Ballon D’or 2026 odds
Harry Kane: 13/8
Lamine Yamal: 9/4
Lionel Messi: 11/4
Kylian Mbappe: 7/2
Rodri: 9/2
Ousmane Dembele: 14/1
Jude Bellingham: 14/1
Michael Olise: 20/1
Erling Haaland: 22/1
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia: 28/1
Declan Rice: 28/1
Vitinha: 28/1
Fabian Ruiz: 33/1
Vinicius Jr.: 40/1
Bruno Fernandes: 50/1
Desire Doue: 50/1
Odds via Betfair
