With the biggest prizes in domestic and international football up for grabs in the next few months, it is the perfect time for this year's men’s Ballon d’Or favourites to show why they deserve to lift the trophy in September.
An award that typically favours players at the top end of the pitch, it is perhaps unsurprising that attackers dominate the list of front-runners to lift the most prestigious individual prize in world football.
Here's our Ballon d'Or power rankings, along with the bookies' odds for the prize: featuring a pair of England internationals, two flying Frenchmen and a teenage Spanish superstar.
Ballon d'Or 2026 power rankings: the bookies' odds for the award
All odds from William Hill.
1. Harry Kane (5/2)
England captain Harry Kane has enjoyed a record-breaking season with Bayern Munich, making him the outright favourite to win the 2026 Ballon d'Or.
The striker, 32, has scored more than 50 goals for club and country this term to spearhead the Bundesliga champions' treble push, while in February he became the first Englishman to reach 500 career goals in official games.
If Kane has a good World Cup this summer - and, dare we say it, even lift the trophy on July 19 - he will be a strong contender to become only the fifth Three Lions player to win the Ballon d'Or, following in the footsteps of Sir Stanley Matthews, Sir Bobby Charlton, Kevin Keegan and Michael Owen.
2. Lamine Yamal (11/4)
The stratosphere, let alone the sky, seems to be the limit for Lamine Yamal. Barcelona’s generational teenage talent, who has broken numerous records since making his debut at 16, was pipped to the trophy by Ousmane Dembele at the most recent ceremony.
However, the 18-year-old still made history on the night, becoming the first player to win the Kopa Trophy - the award given to the best player under the age of 21 - in consecutive years after helping the Catalan club claim a domestic treble.
Yamal, who tops the list of FourFourTwo's best right wingers in the world right now, recently declared: "I don't dream of one Ballon d'Or, I dream of many. If I don't get them, it will be my fault."
Should he continue on his current career trajectory, it may be difficult to disagree.
3. Declan Rice (5/1)
While Declan Rice is the second Englishman in the top three, the fact that the Arsenal midfielder is the only non-attacker in the rankings shows his importance to club and country.
Whether he is driving the Gunners' title charge or forming a key part of England's bid for World Cup glory, the 27-year-old is crucial to the success of every team he plays in.
Like Kane, Rice's hopes of Ballon d'Or success probably hinge on how the Three Lions get on this summer - but a first Premier League or Champions League title with Arsenal certainly wouldn't harm his chances.
4. Kylian Mbappe (6/1)
By his lofty standards, Kylian Mbappe’s start to life at the Bernabeu was rather slow.
It’s a statement that in hindsight feels rather redundant given the fact the Frenchman went on to bag 42 goals in all competitions and topple the record for the most goals scored in a debut season at Real Madrid.
Suffice to say, he seems to have found his feet in Spain. And having netted 39 club goals this season - including 14 in the Champions League - it seems that Mbappe is back to his best and could be on course to improve on his third-place finish in the 2023 Ballon d’Or.
5. Michael Olise (15/2)
From starting out as a youngster at Reading to starring for Bayern in the Bernabeu, it has been quite a ride for Michael Olise.
The former Crystal Palace attacker has found several new gears since swapping south London for southern Germany in 2024 and his numbers in 2025/26 are astonishing, racking up more than 40 goal involvements by the first week of April.
Olise, 24, is difficult to stop in this form and if he keeps it going for a highly-fancied France side at the World Cup, his chances of a first Ballon d'Or will only increase.
