Could we see an African Ballon d’Or winner in 2026? Assessing the chances of four AFCON stars | OneFootball

It’s been over 30 years since George Weah became the first African to win the Ballon d’Or. We’re still waiting for a second winner. Could that change in 2026?

It appears unlikely, with three European superstars leading the race for France Football’s prestigious award this year. But things could change dramatically in a year where there’s two major international tournaments – the Africa Cup Of Nations and World Cup.

Ahead of Sunday’s Morocco vs Senegal final, we’ve assessed four key players from the 2025 AFCON who could conceivably challenge for the Ballon d’Or this year.

Achraf Hakimi

The one obvious, genuine contender.

Hakimi finished sixth in last year’s Ballon d’Or rankings, one of three Africans on the shortlist. He was also one of eight PSG stars to pick up a nomination after their historic, treble-winning campaign.

Captaining Morocco to long-awaited AFCON glory, on home soil, might just elevate his chances above his PSG team-mates this time around.

It’s been an underwhelming first half of the season for the European champions, who sit behind Lens in the Ligue 1 table and were knocked out of the French cup by city rivals Paris FC. Luis Enrique had them peaking in the second half of the season last year and we wouldn’t back against that happening again.

There’s also the World Cup to come. Morocco are demonstrating they ought to be taken very seriously as dark horses. Has any African nation ever approached a World Cup in such fine fettle?

Brahim Diaz

Look exclusively at the club game and Brahim Diaz probably wouldn’t factor in the top 100 contenders for the Ballon d’Or. He’s not even in the top 10 in the Bernabeu dressing room.

Incredibly, he’s played more minutes for Morocco at AFCON 2025 than he has at Real Madrid in the first half of the season, having mustered just four starts under Xabi Alonso.

International tournaments go a long way when it comes to Ballon d’Or voting. The playmaker has surely been the player of the tournament in Morocco, adding the star dust, the hosts’ most consistent difference-maker in the final third.

Getting the Atlas Lions over the line in the final should ensure his place on the 30-man Ballon d’Or shortlist later this year, even if he remains on the periphery under new boss Alvaro Arbeloa.

If he can reproduce that form in America, inspiring the Atlas Lions to at least the final (and realistically actually win the thing), he might just be a contender for the award itself.

Admittedly, ifs don’t come much bigger than that, but Morocco are incredibly tough to beat and made it to the final four last time round.

Sadio Mane

You only have to look at Mane for the evidence of how a strong international tournament can elevate a player’s Ballon d’Or hopes.

The forward finished runner-up to Karim Benzema in 2022, only the second African to make the podium after Weah, largely thanks to leading Senegal to their first-ever AFCON crown earlier that year.

In all likelihood, that’ll be as close as he gets. That year, he also came within a whisker of winning the quadruple with Liverpool. Nowadays he’s turning out in the Saudi Pro League. No player who has spent the entire eligibility period outside of Europe has even made the nominees list since Neymar at Santos way back in 2011.

Whatever Mane does alongside Cristiano Ronaldo at Al Nassr this season won’t move the needle. But if Mane can roll back the years, produce something spectacular in the final – and then do something even more spectacular at the World Cup – then you never know.

We fully expect a player from outside the European mainstream to buck the trend and make this year’s shortlist. Mane could be that man.

Mohamed Salah

Call this one your wildcard.

Salah’s ongoing AFCON heartbreak, bested once again by Senegal in the semis, probably signals an early end to his 2026 Ballon d’Or hopes.

But never say never. Football loves a good comeback story.

Look at Messi going from not even being nominated in 2022 to winning a record-extending eighth Ballon d’Or the following year. Ousmane Dembele hadn’t made the shortlist once before winning it at the age of 28 last year.

A question mark hangs over Liverpool’s Egyptian King, and his place within the team, after his awkward goodbye before jetting off to AFCON.

He looked out of sorts in the first half of 2025-26, but his renewed vigour and four goals in Morocco suggest there’s a player with a point to prove.

The Champions League and World Cup offer Salah the biggest stages on which to do exactly that. All the football that will decide this year’s Ballon d’Or is yet to be played. Don’t write him off.