With a month left until the Ballon d'Or 2026 winner is announced in London on October 26, will favourite Harry Kane lift the trophy on home soil or will Lamine Yamal become the youngest winner in the award's history?

Harry Kane set the record to become the fastest player to 100 goals in Bundesliga history, reaching his ton in 98 games. That was underpinned by the most prolific scoring season of his career in 2025/26, netting 36 goals in 31 Bundesliga matches, 14 in 13 Champions League matches, and 12 for England including six at the World Cup. Scoring 73 goals in 65 games is mindblowing.

Lamine Yamal says the award should go to a "unique" player. He will point to his own career-best scoring feats of 25 strikes for club and country, including three in the Champions League knock-out stages. He would become the youngest ever winner should he get his hands on the trophy in October.

Kylian Mbappe has competed in two World Cup finals - one he won and the other he scored a hat-trick in - and still has yet to be recognised as the best player in the world. He has scored 31 goals this calendar year, including 10 during a record-breaking World Cup campaign where he became the competition's all-time top scorer.