The 2025/2026 season had it all: Barcelona crowned champions in Spain, Arsenal champions in England; Bayern, PSG and Inter ruling their leagues, and Spain crowned world champions.
With all the team honours handed out, only the individual awards remain, and now comes the biggest of them all: the Ballon d'Or.
So let's take a look at the leading contenders to win it...
We'll start with the men's award...
Harry Kane
📸 Alex Grimm - 2026 Getty Images
Harry Kane has had a dream season. The Englishman has been a phenomenal goalscorer and a key player for both Bayern Munich and England.
The numbers speak for themselves: he scored 73 goals in 65 matches. The Golden Shoe winner scored 19 goals more than his nearest rivals. Only Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have more Golden Shoes than the Englishman.
As for team honours, he won the Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal, and finished third at the World Cup with England.
Kylian Mbappé
📸 LLUIS GENE - AFP or licensors
Kylian Mbappé has enjoyed a superb season with Real Madrid and France, although that was not quite matched by team success.
The Frenchman was the top scorer in La Liga, the Champions League and the World Cup.
He scored 58 goals and provided 13 assists in 60 matches over the season.
He is only the second player to finish as top scorer in both the Champions League and the World Cup in the same year, after Eusébio in 1966.
Lamine Yamal
📸 JORGE GUERRERO - AFP or licensors
The FC Barcelona winger has dazzled the world once again.
The Barça star scored 25 goals and provided 20 assists in 57 matches for FC Barcelona and Spain.
He was instrumental in winning the La Liga title, earning the league's MVP award, and the Spanish Super Cup.
He was also crowned world champion with Spain.
Rodri Hernández
📸 Carl Recine - 2026 Getty Images
Rodri Hernández, who already has a Ballon d'Or, is once again among the favourites to claim the individual award.
After all his struggles with a cruciate ligament injury following his EURO triumph, he returned to play an important role for Manchester City.
Above all, though, he returned to play a hugely important role for Spain at the World Cup, particularly from the round of 16 onwards.
The Spanish midfielder was also named the World Cup's Best Player.
Fabián Ruiz
📸 FRANCK FIFE - AFP or licensors
Fabián Ruiz: leading the way in team honours and making his mark individually.
Fabián won the Champions League for the second consecutive time with PSG, Ligue 1 for the fourth time, the FIFA Intercontinental Cup, the UEFA Super Cup and the French Super Cup. And that was just with the Parisians.
He was also hugely important for Spain, winning the World Cup after taking the starting spot of none other than Pedri.
Now for the Women's Ballon d'Or...
Alexia Putellas (FC Barcelona / London City)
📸 JONATHAN NACKSTRAND - AFP or licensors
The two-time winner (2021 and 2022) is emerging as the clear favourite to lift her third golden trophy, capping a defining year as captain and the team's undisputed leader.
- Why she's a favourite: She took on the creative leadership following Aitana's absence, rediscovering her best form and authority on the pitch. She was named UEFA Women's Champions League Player of the Season (MVP) for her consistency and ability to decide matches in the knockout stages.
- Individual stats: 24 goals and 13 assists over the season in question.
- Team honours: UEFA Women's Champions League Liga F Moeve Copa de la Reina Spanish Super Cup UEFA Women's Nations League (with Spain)
- UEFA Women's Champions League
- Liga F Moeve
- Copa de la Reina
- Spanish Super Cup
- UEFA Women's Nations League (with Spain)
Ewa Pajor (FC Barcelona)
📸 Maja Hitij - 2026 Getty Images
The Polish centre-forward delivered one of the most prolific goalscoring campaigns in Europe, becoming Barça's attacking powerhouse.
- Why she's a favourite: She displayed elite finishing efficiency, making her biggest impact in Europe's highest-pressure moments: she scored in every knockout round and was named MVP of the Champions League final after scoring a decisive brace against Olympique Lyonnais.
- Individual stats: 31 goals (Champions League top scorer with 11 goals in 10 matches) and 8 assists in 40 appearances.
- Team honours: UEFA Women's Champions League Liga F Moeve Copa de la Reina Spanish Super Cup
- UEFA Women's Champions League
- Liga F Moeve
- Copa de la Reina
- Spanish Super Cup
Patri Guijarro (FC Barcelona)
📸 JONATHAN NACKSTRAND - AFP or licensors
European football's tactical anchor, whose influence goes beyond conventional statistics as she maintains the defensive balance and smooth build-up play of the best team in the world.
- Why she's a favourite: Indispensable to the tactical setup of both club and country. She shone in the latter stages of the Champions League—including a crucial assist for Pajor's second goal in the final—and was flawless in defensive transitions and counter-pressing.
- Individual stats: 4 goals, 10 assists, the leader in ball recoveries in the opposition half and a pass completion rate above 89%.
- Team honours: UEFA Women's Champions League Liga F Moeve Copa de la Reina Spanish Super Cup UEFA Women's Nations League (with Spain)
- UEFA Women's Champions League
- Liga F Moeve
- Copa de la Reina
- Spanish Super Cup
- UEFA Women's Nations League (with Spain)
Melchie Dumornay (Olympique Lyonnais)
📸 FRANCK FIFE - AFP or licensors
The Haitian forward was the most dangerous and decisive player outside Spain, guiding Olympique Lyonnais to the UEFA Women's Champions League final and complete dominance in France.
- Why she's a favourite: She led the French giants' attack in their toughest European tests, earning MVP honours in the Champions League semi-finals against Arsenal and scoring in the quarter-finals against Wolfsburg. Her combination of powerful strides, technique at speed and versatility in the final third establishes her as one of the hardest players in the world to stop.
- Individual stats: 22 goals and 12 assists over the season in question.
- Team honours: French Première Ligue French Cup Trophée des Championnes (French Super Cup) UEFA Women's Champions League runners-up
- French Première Ligue
- French Cup
- Trophée des Championnes (French Super Cup)
- UEFA Women's Champions League runners-up
Pernille Harder (Bayern Munich)
📸 PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA - AFP or licensors
The Danish captain delivered one of the most prolific and dominant seasons of her career, finishing as European club football's top scorer and winning the Women's Gerd Müller Trophy.
- Why she's a favourite: She led Bayern Munich to a historic domestic treble in Germany thanks to her devastating finishing. Her ability to create openings between the lines and finish inside the box made her the most consistent attacker in German football throughout the season.
- Individual stats: 35 goals and 12 assists in 47 competitive matches.
- Team honours: Google Pixel Frauen-Bundesliga DFB-Pokal Frauen (German Cup) Women's German Super Cup
- Google Pixel Frauen-Bundesliga
- DFB-Pokal Frauen (German Cup)
- Women's German Super Cup
This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.