Di race for di 2026 Ballon d’Or don enter final stretch after di World Cup finish and players don return to dia clubs. Harry Kane still lead di odds, but Rodri, Lamine Yamal, Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi all dey di conversation.
Harry Kane don score 73 goals for club and country for dis season, wey be di second most prolific season for any player for history after Lionel Messi’s 82-goal campaign for 2011-12. Di England captain na 33 years old but e still dey crash football’s top table. E don win back-to-back Golden Boots for Premier League, World Cup Golden Boot and two European Golden Shoes, but neva finish higher than 10th for Ballon d’Or voting before. But now e dey add silverware. E don help Bayern Munich win Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal and German Supercup. For World Cup, e score six goals, including late brace against DR Congo, and England don reach dia best World Cup finish since 1966.
Rodri na di heartbeat of Spain team. E win di Golden Ball as di tournament’s best player and lift di World Cup as captain. Spain only concede one goal for eight matches. Rodri complete 756 passes, wey be more than anybody, and e top touches, line-breaking passes and passes for opposition third. E don join exclusive club as only di fourth man for history to win World Cup, European Championship, European Cup and Ballon d’Or, after Gerd Muller, Franz Beckenbauer and Zinedine Zidane. E come back from ACL injury and Pep Guardiola talk say we go see di real Rodri, and e show am.
Lamine Yamal na di 19-year-old wonder wey don win European Championship final and World Cup final before turning 20, and e win both. E be di first player to do am. For World Cup, e score only one goal but e dey influential, win gamechanging penalty for semi-final against France, and make more successful take-ons than Messi. E carry hamstring injury go di tournament but e still shine. For Barcelona, e bin score 24 goals and get 18 assists for 45 appearances as dem win La Liga and Supercopa. E don finish second for Ballon d’Or last year, and dis year e get strong case to go one better.
Kylian Mbappe go toe-to-toe with Lionel Messi for World Cup. Dem battle for di trophy, Golden Boot, Golden Ball and di all-time leading scorer record. Mbappe win Golden Boot twice and e don score 22 goals for World Cup, one more than Messi. E score 42 goals for 44 appearances for Real Madrid but e no win any trophy. Di goals flow but di medals no follow. E talk say e for prefer not to be top scorer and to play for final. France bin lose for third-place playoff against England, but Mbappe still bin score brace for dat match.
Lionel Messi bin show say at 39 e still get am. E score eight goals for World Cup, including hat-trick for Argentina‘s first game, and e carry dem go final where Spain beat dem. E bin almost be di all-time top scorer but Mbappe eclipse am. Messi no win but e still dey Ballon d’Or conversation, and di fact say e dey di list at all na testament to greatness.
Ousmane Dembele, Erling Haaland, Jude Bellingham and Michael Olise all dey di top 10 contenders too. Dem get dia own stories, but di main battle na between Kane, Rodri, Yamal and Mbappe.
