With the World Cup having concluded, Harry Kane, Lionel Messi and Lamine Yamal will be among the stars with their sights set on football’s ultimate personal accolade, the Ballon d’Or.
Performances of several stars at the tournament have furthered their claims for the honour, with several Spain stars surging up the list of favourites after playing key roles in their triumph.
The Ballon d’Or will officially be announced on October 26.
Will there be a repeat winner or will a new name be on the honour roll for the third consecutive year?
Daily Mail Sport takes a look at the possible contenders to receive the prestigious prize.
Ousmane Dembele won last year’s Ballon d’Or and is among the contenders again for the award
Harry Kane – 1/1
Heading up this list of possible winners is England captain and Bayern Munich’s No9, Harry Kane.
Kane has been at the peak of the footballing world for over a decade now, but has a serious chance of becoming the first Englishman since Michael Owen in 2001 to win the Ballon d’Or after the best statistical season of his career.
The 33-year-old scored a staggering 61 goals in 51 matches last season for Bayern Munich to help the German giants achieve a domestic double, as well as reaching a Champions League semi-final.
Despite Bayern falling to PSG in the last four, Kane scored in both legs of the semi-final, as he had also done against Real Madrid in the previous round.
Kane was equally brilliant for England in the World Cup, having been instrumental as Thomas Tuchel’s side progressed to the semi-finals.
The England captain scored six goals, including two braces, but his lack of involvement in their semi-final loss to Argentina could count against him.
Historically just two domestic trophies would not be enough to win the Ballon d’Or but Kane’s mind-boggling output over the past year means he remains the bookies’ favourite to win the prestigious prize.
Harry Kane could become the first English player to win the Ballon d’Or since Michael Owen
Lamine Yamal – 9/4
Kane will have his work cut out for him though, as the second on the list of favourites for this year’s award is Lamine Yamal.
The Barcelona and Spain star is seen as having a strong chance to become the first teenager to win the Ballon d’Or.
Since the start of last season, Yamal has been simply unstoppable. The Spaniard enjoyed a stellar season for both club and country, winning La Liga, the Spanish Super Cup and of course the World Cup.
Yamal racked up an impressive 16 goals and 12 assists in 28 La Liga games, while he also netted six times and assisted four goals in the Champions League.
His contribution would have likely been even higher had Yamal not seen the end of his season blighted by injury. He made a speedy recovery in time for the World Cup and while he may have not been at his blistering best, the winger played a vital role.
The 19-year-old, who started all but one game, was crucial to Spain’s success, despite only scoring one goal.
The threat he posed forced teams to double up on him, providing open space for teammates. Yamal was also expert in drawing free kicks and penalties through his trickery. Even with a low output his effect was still felt.
Spain’s World Cup success has boosted Lamine Yamal’s chances following on from his stunning season with Barcelona
Rodri – 9/2
Spain’s World Cup winning captain Rodri has emerged as a leading contender following the tournament.
Rodri is an interesting case amongst this year’s favourites and presents the voters with a dilemma.
To many captaining your side to a World Cup with eight flawless performances should immediately make you a top candidate for the honour, but Rodri’s year has been disrupted by several injuries, preventing him from playing half of the Premier League season.
When on the pitch Rodri has been outstanding and he was deservedly named as the World Cup’s Player of The Tournament after orchestrating sublime victories over France and Argentina in the semi-final and final respectively.
Victory for Rodri would indicate that performances in the biggest games are key, rather than consistency over the course of 12 months.
Rodri’s starring role for Spain at the World Cup has pushed him into contention for the honour
The Spain captain was named as the World Cup’s best player after their final triumph
Kylian Mbappe – 6/1
While French superstar Mbappe went another season without a trophy, his individual performances and numbers have been typically magnificent over the past nine months.
With Real Madrid, Mbappe netted an impressive 42 goals in 44 games, including 15 in 11 Champions League outings to end as the top scorer in the competition.
Mbappe was undoubtedly one of the leading figures at the World Cup, scoring ten goals to win the golden boot, finishing clear of his nearest challenger Lionel Messi.
The haul also saw Mbappe become the outright leading goalscorer in World Cup history.
Despite Mbappe reiterating his individual brilliance once again, a lack of silverware may hold him back from winning his first Ballon d’Or.
Kylian Mbappe secured the golden boot at the World Cup, but a lack of silverware my hold him back
Lionel Messi – 8/1
The timeless talent of Messi never seems to fade.
Messi, viewed by many as the greatest of all time, showed us this summer that he is far from finished and remains decisive on the world stage.
Despite Argentina losing the final, Messi’s World Cup performances alone could bring him an extraordinary ninth Ballon d’Or.
Messi silenced doubters from the first match, in which he scored a hat-trick against Algeria. He would go on to contribute goals and assists in all but one of Argentina’s World Cup matches, racking up eight and four respectively.
While it may not hold as much weight as European domestic success, in late 2025 Messi spearheaded Inter Miami to their first ever MLS Cup victory, scoring six goals and getting seven assists in just six MLS play-off games.
Despite his advancing years, Messi was the inspiration behind Argentina’s path to the World Cup final
Ousmane Dembele – 12/1
Reigning Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembele is in contention for back-to-back triumphs.
After years of ridicule and derision in the early 2020s, Dembele has been transformed from an underachieving talent to the world’s best under Luis Enrique at PSG.
For the second year running, Dembele won the Champions League with the French side. The forward held his nerve to score their all-important equaliser from the penalty spot in the final against Arsenal – his 20th goal of the season.
Dembele also enjoyed a prolific World Cup with the Frenchman scoring six goals, including an excellent hat-trick against Norway. But his lack of influence in helping Les Bleus past Spain in their semi-final may count against him.
Ousmane Dembele helped PSG retain the Champions League, putting him in contention for back-to-back Ballon d’Or triumphs
Jude Bellingham – 14/1
Bellingham’s reputation was already stellar before this year, but he became England’s Birmingham Baggio as he attempted to drive the Three Lions to the World Cup final, akin to how the ponytailed star had done for Italy in the 1994 tournament.
Similarly to his Madrid teammate Kylian Mbappe, Bellingham failed to pick up any silverware and will be massively held back by that in the voting. However, it would be ignorant to not at least consider Bellingham for the prize.
The midfielder certainly possesses the talent to deserve the prestigious award. However, the award rarely goes to the most gifted footballer at the time, but rather the most successful in that year’s campaign.
So unfortunately for Bellingham, despite his heroic England performances and unquestionable quality, a season in which you win no silverware and register 13 goals and assists in 40 games is unlikely to cut it.
Jude Bellingham starred for England at the World Cup to put him in contention for the award
Pau Cubarsi and Fabian Ruiz – 16/1 and 18/1
Two Spain stars from their World Cup triumph are viewed as outsiders for the prize.
Teenager defender Cubarsi was named as the Best Young Player at the World Cup, with Spain having conceded just one goal on their route to winning the tournament.
Cubarsi is joined by midfielder Fabian Ruiz, who has won both the World Cup and Champions League this year.
Despite getting fewer than ten goals and assists across the club season and the World Cup, Ruiz’s contribution to his club and country’s success through his ability to keep and advance possession amongst other abilities has been invaluable.
Pau Cubarsi was named as the best young player at the World Cup after starring in defence for Spain
Fabian Ruiz won both the World Cup with Spain and the Champions League with PSG
Luis de la Fuente’s decision to start him over Pedri in the latter stages of the World Cup and the performances that followed or his ability to stand out in a midfield with Joao Neves and Vitinha is a testament to his place in this list.
As across 1,131 minutes in Ligue one this past season Ruiz maintained a 91.5 per cent passing accuracy rate, was in the 99th percentile for progressive passes completed and the 82nd percentile for both key passes and chances created to other midfielders.
These performances alongside his trophy haul for the season make the Spaniard an outside shout for the award.
*Odds courtesy of SkyBet
