Haaland vs Mbappe vs Kane: Insane stats of 2026 Ballon d’Or frontunners compared | OneFootball

There’s a very long race to run, not least a World Cup next summer, when it comes to the 2026 Ballon d’Or and seeing who will succeed Ousmane Dembele to get their hands on the prestigious prize.

But while it’s still relatively early days in the 2025-26 campaign, three very obvious early frontrunners have emerged after making exceptional starts with numbers that aren’t far off what Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo were notching in their pomp.

Manchester City’s Erling Haaland, Bayern Munich’s Harry Kane and Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappe have all been near unstoppable since the summer, averaging better than a-goal-a-game output.

Haaland, Kane and Mbappe are the last three winners of the European Golden Shoe, awarded for the most league goals scored across European football, and already they look like the only realistic contenders in 2025-26. We could be on for a Golden Boot race of Messi-Ronaldo proportions.

Mbappe claimed the award for the first time after a debut season of mixed fortunes at Real Madrid – there’s no questioning his outstanding goal tally, but silverware was lacking in a team that struggled to win their biggest games and often looked to be lacking balance.

With Xabi Alonso at the helm and already making noticeable tactical tweaks, Mbappe will have hopes that he’ll have something to show for his goals this time around. The Frenchman will back himself to fire Los Blancos to the La Liga title and/or Champions League trophy this time around.

Haaland struggled for form and fitness last season at City. He lost out on the Premier League Golden Boot to Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah as Pep Guardiola’s side suffered a serious drop-off, ending up trophyless and a distant third in the table.

He’s since returned from a summer break shortened by the Club World Cup, Haaland has been back to his sharpest. He’s scored 14 of City’s 23 goals in the Premier League so far and has notched 32 in all competitions for club and country – including 13(!) in his last five outings for Norway.

Kane, meanwhile, might be producing the best football of his career to date. He’s won all but one match this season and has undoubtedly been Bayern Munich’s standout player as they routinely win by three and four-goal margins.

But which of the trio has been the most impressive? We’ve crunched the numbers to take a closer look.

Harry Kane – Bayern Munich & England

Penalties: 7

Kylian Mbappe – Real Madrid & France