2026 Ballon d’Or Power Rankings: Arsenal, PSG stars overtake Bayern Munich duo

PSG’s Ousmane Dembele is the current holder of the Ballon d’Or – but who will follow in his footsteps this year?

Big-name players from Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich are among the leading contenders, but there’s still a long way to go. Particularly in a World Cup year.

With that being said, he’s our latest Ballon d’Or power rankings for 2026. Keep checking back as we’ll be keeping on top of all the runners and riders up until the award is handed out later this year.

10. Lionel Messi (=)

Surely the only semi-realistic contender from outside the European elite.

Planet Football received (warranted, to be fair) pelters for persevering with the eight-time winner in our 2024 power rankings.

We learned our lesson last year. Messi could score a hundred goals out in MLS, and it wouldn’t move the needle when it comes to the Ballon d’Or – rightly so, the award is recognition for those at the very top of the game.

But, in a tournament year… *Al Pacino voice* Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in.

You look at his outrageously good 2025, routinely making mincemeat of MLS defenders, and the thought of one last dance at the 2026 World Cup is irresistible.

He couldn’t… could he? (Probably not, when you look at the wider state of Argentina, but never say never).

9. Erling Haaland (=)

We had the Norwegian as the frontrunner in the early months of the season, but that was when he was on track to break Messi’s most outrageous goalscoring records.

Things have changed a bit since then, with Haaland hitting something of a wall… there was even a danger he might have been pipped to the Premier League’s Golden Boot by Igor Thiago.

While Haaland is back in form and could still win a domestic treble, his absence from the latter European stages makes him something of a forgotten man, especially while City look like being shaded by Arsenal.

At this point, he’d have to do something truly outrageous at the World Cup – tough to do with Norway – if he’s to re-enter the mix.

8. Luis Diaz (-3)

The Colombian deserves recognition for an all-round superb debut season with Bayern Munich.

Not only are his numbers are fantastic, but his pressing and energy have taken Vincent Kompany’s side to another level this season. Liverpool could certainly do with a tireless worker like that, eh?

Diaz is probably overshadowed a bit by two of his exceptional Bayern colleagues, and their Champions League exit probably kills stone dead whatever hopes the Colombian had of stealing the spotlight.

7. Kylian Mbappe (-1)

Whisper it… Are Real Madrid a better, more balanced side without Mbappe?

The awkward question lingers. He’s scored shedloads for Los Blancos, but they’ve undoubtedly taken a dip since his arrival – and now, unthinkably, they’re set for a second season without any major silverware. Just imagine if PSG go and win a second Champions League since his exit.

To be fair, the superstar scored home and away against Bayern Munich and Los Blancos actually looked like a decent, functional team at the Allianz. That has rarely been the case with Mbappe in the XI.

His hopes aren’t completely dead in the water if he can produce at the World Cup. But if France are successful, two of his fellow forwards look set for a league title and one of them will be in the Champions League final again. Outshone by Ousmane?

Mbappe will be 28 (at least) before he wins the Champions League and (probably) the Ballon d’Or. Who saw that coming when he burst onto the scene a decade ago? Messi had won four Ballon d’Or and three big ears at that age.

6. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (NE)

The Georgia star had a transformative effect on PSG when he joined from Napoli midway through last season for what looks like a bargain £59million. In his first full campaign in Paris, Kvaratskhelia has done as much as anyone to take Luis Enrique’s side to consecutive Champions League finals.

Indeed, with his assist for the crucial opener in Munich, Kvaratskhelia became the first player to record a goal contribution in seven consecutive Champions League knockout games.

Kvaratskhelia’s consistency is almost unmatched, and it helps that he’s as easy on the eye as he is efficient and ruthless.

Just a wonderful winger to watch. Sadly, he won’t be at the World Cup but if grabs hold of the Champions League final to swing it again for PSG, who would deny him a place at least on the podium?

5. Lamine Yamal (-1)

The Barcelona wonderkid finished runner-up last year despite notching considerably fewer goals and assists than Salah.

It does feel like there’s a degree of PR with Yamal’s runner-up finish, if you judge his season as a whole with a clear head.

In recent months, Yamal has arguably hit new heights. You watch his recent displays and can’t escape the feeling that he might just be the best footballer in the world, already, at the age of 18.

He’s been Barcelona’s best player in their imminent La Liga title triumph and nearly inspired them to a famous comeback in Madrid. Had Fermin Lopez scored from his sublime trivela cross, who knows?

Like Mbappe, he’s probably now relying on an exceptional World Cup to stake a genuine claim. But he has more credit in the bank, and Spain might just give him the platform to flourish in North America.

QUIZ: Can you name every runner-up in the history of the Ballon d’Or?

4. Harry Kane (-2)

As with Mbappe and Haaland, Kane’s goal return this season has been outrageous. He’s now the clear frontrunner to claim a second European Golden Shoe, and that in a league with fewer games.

Admittedly, Robert Lewandowski will tell you that you can rip apart Bundesliga opposition on a weekly basis and that won’t land you the award.

When Lewy finally won the Champions League, he would (and should) have won the Ballon d’Or, but that year it was cancelled by France Football.

What separates Kane from Mbappe and Haaland is the team functioning around him. Domestic trophies are all but guaranteed, but Bayern made a huge impression in the Champions League even if they won’t be in Budapest.

He had a huge say in Bayern’s statement victory over Madrid and scored in each leg against PSG. Their semi-final exit, though, leaves Kane perhaps in need of a World Cup Golden Boot and/or a winner’s medal if a Ballon d’Or is to follow.

3. Michael Olise (-2)

We knew Olise was good at Palace. This good, though? Ballon d’Or-worthy good?

His performance against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu might genuinely be the best of his career to date. He made poor Alvaro Carreras look like Nelson Semedo up against Alphonso Davies in that 8-2 a few years back.

Olise wasn’t quite as devastating in the return leg, but he still grabbed the headlines with an outrageous strike to seal it with the last kick of the game.

Those are the iconic moments that Ballon d’Or campaigns are built upon and the reason he was top of the last update of these rankings.

But he struggled to have the same impact against PSG, even in the frankly ridiculous first leg, so here at least, his star has fallen somewhat.

Still, 21 goals and 30 (!!!) assists in 49 appearances is an absolutely silly return. He surely remains among the top three attackers on the planet right now, and he could cement in place in that trio at the World Cup with France.

2. Declan Rice (+5)

Some of the greatest teams in football history didn’t have a Ballon d’Or winner.

We probably can’t put Arsenal in those conversations but they remain in a really strong position for the two trophies they really covet.

It’s weird that Arsenal are a handful of wins away from the greatest season in the club’s history, and yet no individual is really bothering Ballon d’Or conversations.

Arsenal’s strength is in the collective which means they don’t have a headline-hogging superstar, and only Viktor Gyokeres (fat chance) features in the Premier League’s top 20 goalscorers this season. David Raya might genuinely be their Player of the Season, but no goalkeeper is winning the Ballon d’Or. And who could separate William Saliba and Gabriel?

Rice is the certainly closest thing to a standout. He’s taken his game up to dynamic new levels this season and has looked like a leader, wearing the armband in this tricky period in the absence of club captain Martin Odegaard.

A key man for England, too. If Rice can maintain his levels at the World Cup after lifting the Premier League and Champions League trophies, it would be very hard to overlook him. A career-defining summer lies ahead.

1. Ousmane Dembele (+2)

Only Messi and Ronaldo have retained the Ballon d’Or since Marco van Basten way back in the late ’80s. With all due respect to Dembele, he’s not at their personal level.

We had the holder in the lower reaches of this list for the first half of an underwhelming, injury-hit campaign. But Dembele has climbed with every update and going back to the Champions League final puts him firmly in the frame to retain.

Dembele’s been in superb form for weeks now. His brilliant brace against Bayern in Paris and pivotal opener in Bavaria suggests that he – and PSG in general – are peaking at exactly the right moment once again. Just in time for the World Cup too.

READ NEXT: The 10 players with the most goals & assists in Europe in 2025-26: Bayern Munich dominate…

TRY A QUIZ: The Ultimate Ballon d’Or Quiz: 30 questions on football’s most prestigious individual award