2027 Ballon d’Or Power Rankings: Michael Olise giving Yamal, Raphinha serious competition…
We’re still waiting to see who will win the 2026 Ballon d’Or, with Harry Kane, Lamine Yamal and Kylian Mbappe among the top contenders in a wide-open race.
But we can already look ahead to the 2027 Ballon d’Or after the start of the 2026-27 campaign, in which superstar names from Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich have made excellent starts.
All of the football that contributes to this year’s Ballon d’Or has already been played. Everything from this new season technically counts to next year’s award – so we can start making early judgements.
Here’s our early power rankings for the 2026-27 Ballon d’Or:
10. Vitinha (NEW)
Our early editions of this ranking had Donyell Malen as our wildcard.
The Dutch forward probably ought to get in on merit, given his scintillating goalscoring form under Gian Piero Gasperini, but save for an absolute miracle fairytale season from Roma, we have to be honest and realistic and recognise he won’t be seriously challenging for the award in a year’s time. He’d do very well to earn a nomination.
And so we look to a midfielder who has been a deserved presence at the top end of the Ballon d’Or rankings over the past couple of seasons. He remains a key cog for threepeat-chasing PSG.
Then you look at Portugal and they might just be the team they ought to be now that Jorge Jesus has ostracised a certain quadragenarian. With Vitinha pulling the strings in midfield, who bets against them retaining their Nations League crown?
9. Martin Odegaard (↓1)
Arsenal were outstanding last season, a penalty shootout away from being the European champions, and yet nobody is earnestly discussing any of their individuals for this year’s Ballon d’Or.
That’s because they didn’t really have any outstanding candidates, with their strength all about the collective ethos instilled by Mikel Arteta. Declan Rice was probably the closest thing to a standout, but he’s miles off being in the conversation.
Next year could be different. Arsenal still look like one of the best teams in Europe, only a bit more free to express themselves after getting the monkey off their back.
A word for their club captain, who has started the new season in scintillating form. He’s already quadrupled his tally of goals from last season.
8. Jude Bellingham (↑1)
You’ll notice Rodri’s name absent from this list.
We maintain that he’s the best midfielder on the planet, and he’s seamlessly slotted in at Barcelona and made them look even better, but our logic is that if the Catalan club go on to achieve great things this season, it won’t be him getting the individual accolades.
Which is probably fair enough, when you consider what their forwards are doing.
You could make a similar argument against Bellingham. If Jose Mourinho’s Real Madrid win La Liga, or the Champions League, then you know who’ll be the frontrunner. He’s made no secret of his belief that he deserves it.
But Bellingham is a bit flashier than Rodri, has made some eye-catching contributions already, and Mourinho appears to understand the best use for him. Winning the thing is probably beyond him, but a podium placing isn’t out of the question if Los Blancos achieve something special.
You only needed to look at Bellingham’s performance in England’s 7-0 demolition of Croatia to see he’s comfortably one of the 10 best footballers on the planet.
7. Erling Haaland (=)
Ooof.
It’s Haaland. He’s one of the most potent goalscorers in history and comfortably one of the best players in the world right now. In ordinary circumstances, of course he can challenge for the Ballon d’Or.
But these are not ordinary circumstances. God knows where Haaland, or Manchester City, will be this time next year. What a mess.
6. Kvicha Kvaratshkelia (↓1)
Like Arsenal, it’s difficult to choose one name when it comes to PSG.
They possess excellence in almost every area of the pitch, evidenced by their record nine nominees for this year’s Ballon d’Or. Of Luis Enrique’s Gala XI, it’s only the goalkeeper and right-sided forward missing from the shortlist.
Kvara might’ve had a genuine shot this year had it been a World Cup year. Not to mention a World Cup in which most of the world’s biggest stars delivered.
In a non-tournament year, he could genuinely do it. But the dazzlingly entertaining Georgian winger will need to repeat his exploits on the biggest European nights. Doing it all over again is a big ask.
5. Kylian Mbappe (↓1)
“I really want the Ballon d’Or to return to Real Madrid,” Mbappe recently told Diario AS.
“It needs to come back to the Bernabeu, to the Madridistas, to return for all those people and give them something to be excited about. They deserve it more than anyone.”
He, and Real Madrid, are certainly pushing his candidacy for this year’s award. They’re like a dog with a bone. We simply do not agree he did enough last season.
This year might be different. He’s continuing to score goals at a ridiculous rate and will surely challenge for another European Golden Shoe.
But, on the evidence of Real Madrid’s recent defeat to Atletico Madrid, we’re not quite sure if Jose Mourinho has cracked it to make the side competitive enough at the highest level.
Mbappe can be as individually brilliant as he likes, but he won’t win a Ballon d’Or until he plays for a team that wins the biggest trophies. Jury remains out.
4. Harry Kane (↓1)
Kane would have wrapped up this year’s Ballon d’Or were it not for the World Cup opening up the race somewhat.
Talking individual achievements in the 2025-26 European season, no one could really hold a candle to Kane, who won a domestic treble and was streets ahead of the competition when it came to goals scored.
It’s the Kvaratskhelia scenario all over again. Do that again and the award is surely his. Easier said than done.
So far it’s been a relatively slow start for Vincent Kompany’s Bundesliga champions, but they’re growing into the season. A goal in each of his last seven appearances for club and country shows Kane won’t be going anywhere.
Just the six goals for England in this break. The best goalscorer on the planet.
3. Michael Olise (↑3)
This international break will likely be an afterthought for next year’s Ballon d’Or. Next October, few people are going to be talking about what Olise did in his first few appearances under Zinedine Zidane.
But that’s not the point. During this break, the 24-year-old gave us a reminder that no conversation about the best footballers on the planet is complete without him. He was astonishingly good for Les Bleus, notching four goals and two assists from just 211 minutes of action.
In a year where club achievements will be paramount, Vincent Kompany and the perennial Bundesliga champions offer Olise a solid platform to challenge for the award.
You could argue that he’s Bayern’s best player, as evidenced by him being named Bundesliga Player of the Season last term. If the Bavarians go all the way in Europe, which is certainly possible, he might just outshine a certain team-mate.
And look out for next summer’s Nations League knockout tournament. France, like England, Spain and Portugal, have already booked their place. That could be a trump card if everything’s tight following the conclusion of the 2026-27 club season.
2. Lamine Yamal (=)
What can you say about a teenager who has already won a European Championship and World Cup?
One who is already among Barcelona’s best players, a key man under Hansi Flick as they’ve claimed back-to-back La Liga titles?
The scary thing is that all the evidence from early in this season is that Yamal looks like taking the biggest leap forward of his career to date. Just the eight goals and six assists so far, in eight matches, for Barcelona.
He’s looked every bit as unstoppable for Spain, too.
The comparisons with a certain someone are becoming unavoidable. Watch him play and it’s hard to see him as anything other than the best footballer in the world right now.
1. Raphinha (=)
The Brazilian doesn’t quite have the profile of some of the other names on this list, and there’s a selflessness to his game that might just harm his chances in the long run.
He’d have scored in every single game this season if he didn’t allow Lamine Yamal to take a penalty against Levante.
But what he’s been doing so far this season for Barcelona is quite simply outrageous. Off the charts. Fourteen goals, three assists; a goal contribution every 36 minutes.
His reinvention as a centre-forward reminds us of the last guy who won it. Not only is he finishing chances, but he works with a tireless intensity, leads from the front, and makes the team as a whole that much better. Thriving as a striker.
Raphinha’s international break was a tad quiet in comparison to the other big names on this list, but provided it was only a knock, that’ll do his chances no harm in the long run.
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