With the 2026 Ballon d’Or award set to be presented to soccer’s top performer — as determined by France Football magazine — next Monday in London, there’s no better time to take a crack at ranking the Top 20 players in the game.
Many of those listed below have been nominated for the most coveted individual prize on Planet Fútbol, though while the Ballon d’Or voters can only consider achievements from early August 2025 to July 19 of this year, the day Spain beat Argentina in the final of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, this list reflects who ranks where right now.
(Photo by James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images)
The Manchester City winger’s ball skills are as dazzling as they come, and the end-product (4 goals, 2 assists in six Premier League contests) has been there this season, too.
ACHIEVEMENTS:
- 2025-26 FA Cup winner (Manchester City)
- 2025-26 League Cup winner (Manchester City)
- Member of France’s 2026 World Cup Squad
(Photo by Ibrahim Ezzat/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
The 29-year-old Brazilian leads Europe’s top five leagues with 12 goals so far. Rafinha finished fifth in Ballon d’Or voting last year.
ACHIEVEMENTS:
- 2025-26 La Liga champion (Barcelona)
- 21 goals across all competitions for Barcelona in 2025-26
- Member of Brazil’s 2026 World Cup squad
(Photo by James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images)
On his way to becoming one of the best Ecuadorian players ever, Pacho is already one of the best central defenders in football; PSG’s partnership with captain Marquinhos continues to be the best in Europe by some distance.
ACHIEVEMENTS:
- 2025-26 Champions League winner (PSG)
- 2025-26 Ligue 1 champion (PSG)
- Started all four of Ecuador’s matches at the 2026 World Cup
(Photo: Catherine Steenkeste/Getty Images)
Signed by PSG from Italian club Napoli in early 2025, ‘Maradona the Georgian’ was an immediate starter for Luis Enrique as the Parisians won back-to-back domestic and European honours. However, his season ended after he suffered an ACL injury in the Champions League win over Barcelona on 20 October.
ACHIEVEMENTS:
- 2025-26 Champions League Player of the Season
- 2025-26 Champions League winner (PSG), with 10 goals and six assists in the competition
- 2025-26 Ligue 1 champion (PSG)
(Photo by Ryan Pierce/Getty Images)
The 24-year-old Portuguese is the world’s top left-back despite being sidelined for the next few weeks with a thigh injury picked up in PSG’s 2-1 win over Strasbourg last weekend.
ACHIEVEMENTS:
- 2025-26 Champions League winner (PSG)
- 2025-26 Champions League Team of the Season
- Scored for Portugal at the 2026 World Cup
(Photo by Maynard Manyowa/News Images/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Elite goalkeepers are few and far between these days, which is one of the reasons why Ryan is here despite not starting for the national team; Arsenal No.1 watched from the bench as Unai Simo supported Spain at the World Cup last summer. Still, the 31-year-old vet was the best goalkeeper in club football last season, conceding five goals in seven league games which tied for the top spot in the Premier League.
ACHIEVEMENTS:
- 2025-26 Premier League champion (Arsenal)
- 2025-26 Premier League Golden Glove (19 clean sheets)
- 2026 World Cup champion with Spain
(Photo by Jean Catuffe/Getty Images)
The veteran remains the best at the right-back position and, at just 27 years old, is one of his best ever. Before helping PSG repeat as European champions last spring, Hakimi captained Morocco at the Africa Cup of Nations, which the Atlas Lions won after Senegal were subsequently disqualified.
ACHIEVEMENTS:
- 2025 Africa Cup of Nations champion (Morocco)
- 2025-26 Champions League winner (PSG)
- Captained Morocco to the 2026 World Cup quarterfinals
(Photo by Tnani Badreddine/DeFodi Images/DeFodi via Getty Images)
The 26-year-old Portuguese destroyer, arguably the best midfielder in the game, has been a mainstay for coach Luis Enrique in PSG’s last two trophy-laden seasons. He also helped his country beat Spain to win the UEFA Nations League in 2025 and finished third in Ballon d’Or voting.
ACHIEVEMENTS:
- 2025-26 Champions League winner (PSG), named Player of the Match in the final
- 2025-26 Ligue 1 champion (PSG)
- Member of Portugal’s 2026 World Cup squad
(Photo by Javier Borrego/Europa Press via Getty Images)
Although he was not a full-time starter for Spain during the World Cup, he created more chances than any other La Roja player in the tournament. His appearance off the bench in extra time was the spark that led to Ferran Torres’ cup-winning goal.
ACHIEVEMENTS:
- 2026 World Cup champion (Spain)
- 2025-26 LaLiga champion (Barcelona)
(Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images)
The towering Brazilian centre-back was the rock on which Arsenal’s success was built in 2025-26, when the Gunners won the Premier League for the first time in two decades and came agonizingly close to their first victory in Europe’s top club competition.
At 28, Gabriel is perhaps the best defender in the Premier League, with his Arsenal partner William Saliba out long-term.
ACHIEVEMENTS:
- 2025-26 Premier League champion (Arsenal)
- 2025-26 Champions League Team of the Season
- Started for Brazil at the 2026 World Cup
(Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)
The Real Madrid star was England’s emotional leader and paid tribute to Kane, his best player in leading his country to bronze at the 2026 World Cup, the Three Lions’ highest finish since 1966. He has three goals and three assists in nine La Liga appearances.
ACHIEVEMENTS:
- 2026 World Cup bronze medal winner (England)
- England-record seven goals at the 2026 World Cup
(Photo by Sathire Kelpa/Eurasia Sports Images/Getty Images)
When Dembele won the Ballon d’Or last year, an obvious question arose: What would he do for the award?
The 29-year-old responded by leading PSG to their second European crown in two seasons and scored an equalizer for his side against Arsenal en route to a late victory on penalties. He already has three goals in two Champions League games this season.
ACHIEVEMENTS:
- 2025-26 Champions League winner (PSG)
- 2025-26 Ligue 1 champion (PSG)
- Started for France at the 2026 World Cup
(Photo by Peter Kneffel/Image credit via Getty Images)
The towering centre-forward, who has been the face of England’s greatest generation of players since the Three Lions won their only World Cup more than 60 years ago, is probably in the decline of his career at 33.
Still, he remains the game’s top goalscorer this side of Erling Haaland at the 2026 tournament, hitting 6 for the Norwegian’s 7.
ACHIEVEMENTS:
- 2025-26 Bundesliga champion (Bayern Munich)
- 2025-26 Bundesliga top scorer (36 goals)
- 2026 World Cup bronze medal winner (England)
(Photo by Eric Verhoeven/Socrates/Getty Images)
Like Messi, Kubarsi was in contention for the World Cup Ballon d’Or.
At just 19 years old, the Barcelona centre-back anchored Spain’s backline as La Roja shut out rivals en route to lifting the World Cup trophy, conceding an astonishing eight goals. Later, the Barça academy product was named the best youngster of the competition.
ACHIEVEMENTS:
- 2026 World Cup champion (Spain)
- 2026 World Cup Best Young Player
- 2025-26 LaLiga champion (Barcelona)
(Photo via Andrew J. Clark/ISI Photos/ISI Photos by Getty Images)
How could Messi not be here after the GOAT, who turned 39 at the World Cup, scored eight goals to help Argentina reach their second final in four years? Only Kylian Mbappe, whose ninth and 10th strikes against England’s reserves in the glorious friendly known as the third-place match, has been more prolific.
Messi was the best player on the field in the match in which “Albiceleste” beat England 2:1 in the semi-finals, and the best player of his country in the extra time defeat to Spain in the final. The Inter Miami man is also the runaway goalscorer in MLS with five more goals than any other player, despite appearing in fewer matches.
ACHIEVEMENTS:
- 2026 World Cup runner-up (Argentina)
- 2025 MLS Cup champion (Inter Miami)
- 2025 MLS MVP
(Photo by James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images)
Last season’s Premier League Golden Boot winner, the sport’s deadliest shooter, is back at the top of the English Premier League points table. In all competitions, the 26-year-old has scored more goals than he has played, including four in his last two Champions League appearances.
It’s been a banner year. In November last year, Haaland led his native Norway back to the World Cup for the first time in 28 years and then beat five-time champions Brazil 2-0 to send them into the quarter-finals with two goals in the main event.
ACHIEVEMENTS:
- 2025-26 Premier League Golden Boot winner (27 goals)
- 2025-26 FA Cup and League Cup winner (Manchester City)
- Led Norway to its first-ever World Cup quarterfinal
(Photo by Fran Santiago/Getty Images)
Rodry, who won the Ballon d’Or as World Cup MVP, is clearly aiming to reclaim the award he somewhat surprisingly took home in 2024 while playing for Manchester City.
Rodri returned to Spain to play for Barcelona in August, turning the already legitimate contender for the Champions League title into a sportsbook favourite.
While the main blow to Rhodri’s candidacy is that he missed most of last season with CIity with a torn ACL, that makes his recent accomplishments all the more impressive.
ACHIEVEMENTS:
- 2026 World Cup champion (Spain)
- 2026 World Cup Golden Ball (most outstanding player)
- 2025-26 FA Cup winner (Manchester City)
(Photo by Christina Pahnke – Corbis via Sampics/Getty Images)
In a comically stacked team with Kylian Mbappe and 2025 Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembéle, Olise was France’s standout player at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Those performances in the US over the summer quickly catapulted the London-born Bayern Munich player into the world’s best player conversation.
He got off to a flying start with Bayern, scoring seven goals in eight Bundesliga and Champions League games during that term.
ACHIEVEMENTS:
- 2026 World Cup bronze medal winner (France)
- Set World Cup record for most assists at a tournament
- 2025-26 Bundesliga Player of the Season (Bayern Munich)
(Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)
The 27-year-old Frenchman won his second World Cup Golden Boot in a row and Les Bleus’ fourth this summer. In his third season with Real Madrid, he continues to score at will; Mbappe has 11 goals in La Liga and UEFA Champions League play ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League trip to Leipzig.
Although he is yet to win a European or Spanish title after leaving hometown club PSG for Madrid, his case for the Ballon d’Or is strong. So don’t be surprised if he earns the honor for the first time after nine career nominations.
ACHIEVEMENTS:
- 2026 World Cup bronze medal winner (France)
- 2026 World Cup Golden Boot winner (10 goals)
- All-time top scorer in World Cup history (22 goals in 3 appearances)
(Photo by Ibrahim Ezzat/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
In a year without a clear Ballon d’Or winner, the 19-year-old superstar is as busy as anyone. He just won the World Cup and although he scored just once in La Roja’s eight games at the tournament, he played a crucial role in the young champions’ first game.
“It was the best performance I’ve ever seen from a 19-year-old,” former USA and Villarreal striker Jozy Altidore told me a day after the Spanish-language Telemundo network covered the decision. “Every time he lost the ball, he sprinted and got it back. Those are the things that people don’t pay attention to. He was very good, very disciplined, professional.”
Yamal has resumed his high scoring ways with La Liga leaders Barcelona this season. Despite manning the right wing, he trails only Barça team-mate Raphinha and Real Madrid forward Kylian Mbappe in goals two months into the 2026-27 season.
ACHIEVEMENTS:
- 2026 World Cup champion (Spain)
- 2025-26 LaLiga champion (Barcelona)
- 24 goals across 45 appearances for Barcelona in 2025-26