Who will win the 2026 Ballon d’Or? After his outstanding season with FC Bayern, Harry Kane is among the top contenders for the prestigious award. Kylian Mbappé, however, sees things differently. The Real Madrid superstar considers himself the best player of the past season.
Yet the Frenchman’s year was by no means perfect. Individually, Mbappé once again posted impressive stats and was Real Madrid’s top scorer, but he failed to win a major title with the club.
Nor did he achieve triumph with France at the World Cup. Les Bleus were eliminated in the semifinals by Spain, who went on to win the title. On a personal level, however, Mbappé made history at the tournament and increased his total to 22 World Cup goals.
The 27-year-old heads into the Ballon d’Or voting with that same confidence.
“There wasn’t a single player who had a better season than I did.”
Speaking to L’Equipe, Mbappé made no secret of the fact that he believes he has an excellent chance of winning the Ballon d’Or. “I think I have a good chance,” the Real Madrid star explained.
He then followed up with a remarkable statement: “There wasn’t a single player who had a better season than I did.”
A statement that could certainly be interpreted in Munich as a slight dig at Kane. After all, when it comes to outstanding individual performances, the Bayern striker is by no means outshone by Mbappé.
Last season, Kane scored an incredible 61 goals in 51 competitive matches for the German record champions. In the Bundesliga alone, the Englishman netted 36 goals, once again securing the Golden Boot as Europe’s top scorer.
Even more importantly: Unlike Mbappé, Kane was able to cap off his exceptional individual season with titles. With FC Bayern, he won the double—the German league title and the DFB Cup. In the Champions League, the Munich side also made it all the way to the semifinals.
Kane has strong arguments on his side
This makes Kane one of Mbappé’s biggest rivals in the Ballon d’Or voting. While the Frenchman can point to his individual achievements and his historic World Cup tally, the Bayern star brings not only his goals but also a more successful club season to the table.
Kane himself had recently been much more reserved when discussing his chances. “Of course, it’s no longer in my hands, but up to the voters and the decision-makers,” the 33-year-old explained. At the same time, he emphasized: “My season was by far my best, and we’ll just have to wait and see.”
In addition to Kane and Mbappé, Rodri and Lamine Yamal are also considered among the top contenders. However, the head-to-head battle between the Bayern striker and the Real Madrid star promises to be particularly exciting.
The decision will be announced on October 26. Should Kane actually win, he would also make Bundesliga history. No player from Germany’s top division has won the Ballon d’Or since Matthias Sammer in 1996.
In any case, Mbappé has already picked his favorite: himself. Whether the voters share his assessment or place greater weight on Kane’s historic season with FC Bayern will become clear in a few weeks.