The 2026 Ballon d’Or race took an interesting twist after Paris Saint-Germain won the Champions League on May 30.
Paris Saint-Germain beat Arsenal to defend their Champions League crown successfully, and with it came great consequences in the Ballon d’Or race.
Ousmane Dembele scored from the penalty spot to cancel out Kai Havertz’s early opener. The game eventually went to post-match penalties, where Gabriel Magalhaes missed the decisive spot kick.
Ballon d’Or 2026 rankings
With the World Cup still to come, we take a look at how things stand if the Ballon d’Or was to be awarded today.
- Kylian Mbappe (Real Madrid/France)
Mbappe finished the season trophyless in what was a season to forget for Real Madrid.
Also Read: Like Henry, like Dembélé: The secret to Ballon d’Or
His only remaining major bargaining chips are the 49-goal involvements he has so far and the strong French squad he will captain in North America.
- Lamine Yamal (Barcelona/Spain)
With 42 goal involvements, the 18-year-old, for his age, is having his most productive season yet or was having, before his season-ending hamstring injury.
Barring a major calamity, he will win his third La Liga title and is expected to return just in time for the World Cup to play for a Spanish side that is one of the favourites.
- Harry Kane (Bayern Munich, England)
With 61 goals, no one has been more productive than the Three Lions captain in front of goal in the top European leagues.
He won the treble in Germany, but his lack of a Champions League trophy puts him in third place ahead of the World Cup.
Declan Rice won the Premier League but lost the Champions League. Photo credit: Sebastian Frej. Source: Getty Images
- Declan Rice (Arsenal, England)
Declan Rice didn’t put a foot wrong the entire campaign; he even scored a penalty under pressure in the final, but in the end, Arsenal didn’t get the Champions League.
With a Premier League trophy, he needs to follow it up with a decent performance to have hopes of usurping our number 1 pick.
- Ousmane Dembele (PSG, France)
Well, who would have thought that Dembele would be in the running for the Ballon d’Or again?
Dembele came to life at Anfield in the quarter-finals with a brace. His numbers are way lower than his title-winning run last season, but his decisive goals in the knockout rounds, including the equaliser in the final, will sell his case for him.
He is one of the expected Didier Deschamps’ started attacking trident at the World Cup.
Why Arsenal was denied penalty vs PSG
Meanwhile, Arsenal was denied a penalty for a foul on Noni Madueke in the Champions League final.
Madueke was fouled by Nuno Mendes inside the area, but the referee stood his ground and refused to award a spot-kick.
Mikel Arteta slammed the referee in his post-match remarks.
MSN
