Ballon d'Or 2026 state of play for last year’s top 10 | OneFootball

Where do last year’s leading contenders stand in the Ballon d'Or 2026 race? Here is the state of the top 10 now.

According to L'Équipe, Ousmane Dembélé is favourite, Ligue 1’s best player and decisive against Bayern Munich with two goals and two assists. Kylian Mbappé was Pichichi with 25 and Champions League top scorer with 15, though the collective outcome remains another debate.

Lamine Yamal kept momentum despite injuries, posting 42 goal involvements in 45 games as Barcelona won La Liga, but he did not score for Spain. Raphinha’s recurring hamstring problems limited him to 18 league starts, yet he was Barcelona’s Supercopa hero.

Vitinha helped PSG win Ligue 1, was Intercontinental Cup best player and struck a Champions League hat-trick against Tottenham in a 5-3 win. Achraf Hakimi’s ankle then hamstring issues left him 15 league starts, yet he was best right-back, produced seven Champions League assists and should return for the final against Arsenal.

At 33, Mohamed Salah’s influence waned after a December dispute with Arne Slot. A Cup of Nations semi-finalist, he has left Liverpool at contract end.

Cole Palmer fronted BlueCo’s project but his influence shrank with adductor trouble, and he was not selected by England for the World Cup. Gianluigi Donnarumma, overshadowed by David Raya, still played 43 matches and 4,000 minutes, in a Manchester City season that felt like the end of a cycle. Nuno Mendes logged more Champions League minutes, 1,283, than in Ligue 1, 1,250, and is a Luis Enrique mainstay.

Source: L'Équipe