England’s next Ballon d’Or winner: Ranking the 5 favourites after Harry Kane’s historic triumph
Harry Kane was crowned the 2026 winner after a record-breaking season with Bayern Munich but who next for English players?
Kane became just the fifth Englishman to win the award after Stanley Matthews, Bobby Charlton, Kevin Keegan and most recently Michael Owen.
Trent Alexander-Arnold previously said “I want to be first full-back to win Ballon d’Or” but after being relegated to the Real Madrid reserves, has never looked further away.
Meanwhile Cole Palmer, a player once tipped to be in with a shout in the future, lacks the consistency to make you believe he is truly likely to win it.
Declan Rice is one of the best English players in the world but unless you are a tempo-controlling player like Rodri, defensive-minded players just don’t tend to win the award. Aside from the former City midfielder, a defensive player has not won the award since Fabio Cannavaro in 2006.
So which English players could lift the award next? Here’s our five favourites.
5. Max Dowman
The 25-year break between English players proves there’s no guarantee an Englishman will be winning the award any time soon and so if we are looking to the future, Arsenal’s young star Dowman could be a good bet.
He’s only 16 and yet already proven capable of breaking into a title-winning Arsenal team and Bukayo Saka’s current injury could give him the platform to make a more permanent case of staying in the side.
He is a player that looks to have a lot of things going for him but plenty of other teenagers have had bright starts only to fizzle out in later years.
If Dowman can continue to improve and continue playing for a club competing for league titles and Champions Leagues, there’s every chance he could be in with a shot.
4. Rio Ngumoha
Liverpool have their own young wonderkid on their hands with Ngumoha currently breaking through the ranks.
The left winger is a few years older than Dowman, which is why we have ranked him just slightly higher, and is already a consistent member of Liverpool’s first team.
He is a player that is exciting to watch, which is often key to a Ballon d’Or run, but he needs Liverpool to return to winning major honours if he is going to be in contention.
3. Anthony Gordon
Moving to Barcelona, who have won the award a joint-record 12 times, is a smart move for Gordon if he wants to get his hands on the shiny ball.
With the trajectory he’s on, it’s easy to see a world in which Gordon becomes one of the best wingers and even one of the best players in the world. Should Barcelona win the lot this year and Gordon plays a significant part in that, he will be talked about for the Ballon d’Or.
The only issue is who plays on the opposite wing. Lamine Yamal is so clearly the focus of attention at the Camp Nou and the superstar is the one that tends to get Ballon d’Or votes.
Gordon will have to have an incredible season to win it over his younger teammate.
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2. Harry Kane
Kane’s Ballon d’Or feels not only like a celebration of his previous season but everything that came before.
But even if he is at 33 and in the latter stage of his career, he could easily win it again before his time is up.
He’s already scored 10 goals in 12 matches this season and with no major international tournament next summer, chances are the winner will come from whichever team lifts the Champions League.
Bayern are in reasonable contention to do that, even if Barcelona and PSG are fancied more at this stage, and so Kane could become a back-to-back winner.
1. Jude Bellingham
Bellingham is obviously the outstanding English contender.
To win the Ballon d’Or, you often have to be box office and his performances for England as well as his club side make sure he gets seen regularly on the world stage.
He plays for Madrid, which is a good start as they have produced more different winners than any other team, and he is still only 23.
The only slight negative in his path is that clubs tend to champion one player in the race for the Ballon d’Or and so Kylian Mbappe is likely to take Real Madrid’s focus but with a home Euros in 2028, he could become the outstanding candidate in the near future.
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