2026 Ballon d’Or: Updated Rankings as Harry Kane Leads With 7 Days to Go

• Harry Kane has emerged as the favourite to win the 2026 Ballon d’Or, according to Polymarket, with seven days left before the ceremony in London
• The Bayern Munich striker has overtaken Barcelona forward Lamine Yamal, who led the betting markets at the start of October after a strong individual season
• Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappé and Rodri complete the top five as the football world awaits the 70th edition at the London Palladium on October 26

Harry Kane has emerged as the favourite to win the 2026 Ballon d’Or with seven days left before the award ceremony.

The 70th edition of the award will be presented at the London Palladium Theatre on Monday, October 26, 2026. It will be the first Ballon d’Or ceremony held outside Paris.

London was chosen to honour Stanley Matthews, who won the first award in 1956. Voting by journalists closed on September 28, meaning the winner has already been decided.

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Rankings from the betting platform Polymarket, as reported by Legit.ng, show the Bayern Munich striker ahead of four other contenders.

Ballon d’Or 2026 updated rankings

Below are the top five contenders for the 2026 Ballon d’Or, according to Polymarket as of Monday, October 19, 2026:

1. Harry Kane (Bayern Munich) Kane leads with a 67.6% chance of winning the award. According to Oddschecker, the England captain scored 61 goals in 51 games for Bayern, a club record. He also won the Bundesliga, the DFB Cup and the European Golden Shoe.

2. Lamine Yamal (Barcelona) The Barcelona forward sits second with a 25.3% chance. He was named La Liga Player of the Season as Barcelona won the league. Yamal also lifted the World Cup with Spain, according to Oddschecker.

3. Lionel Messi The eight-time winner is third in Legit.ng’s rankings with a 3.1% chance. Messi scored eight goals and provided four assists at the 2026 World Cup, winning the Silver Ball.

4. Kylian Mbappé (Real Madrid) Mbappé is level with Messi on 3.1%. He won the World Cup Golden Boot with 10 goals and scored 42 times for Real Madrid, but ended the season without a trophy.

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5. Rodri The 2024 winner completes the top five with a 0.4% chance. He was named the best player at the 2026 World Cup, winning the Golden Ball, according to Oddschecker.

Kane overtakes Yamal in Ballon d’Or race

At the start of October, Yamal was the bookmakers’ favourite for the award, according to Oddschecker.

However, Kane moved into odds-on with every bookmaker from mid-October. By October 11, the Bayern striker was around 4/9, while Yamal had drifted to about 2/1.

Oddschecker noted that judges weigh individual performance and decisiveness above team trophies, which favours Kane’s goal record.

Yamal’s quiet, injury-hit World Cup on a personal level has also been cited as a factor.

Kane and Yamal’s stats compared

According to an earlier report by YEN.com.gh, Harry Kane scored 73 goals for club and country in the 2025/26 season.

Bayern Munich won the Bundesliga, the German Cup and the German Super Cup with the England captain leading the line.

Lamine Yamal recorded 25 goals and 20 assists in 57 appearances for Barcelona and Spain. The teenager won La Liga and the Spanish Super Cup, and he was part of Spain’s World Cup-winning squad, though injury limited his role at the tournament. Kane said at the time that “the final decision is in the hands of the voters.”

Source: YEN.com.gh