As the 2026 FIFA World Cup nears its conclusion, the race for the coveted Ballon d’Or is also heating up.
Many players have made a strong claim to the ultimate individual prize in football with talismanic displays for their respective national teams.
Thanks for the submission!
France’s Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele, England’s Harry Kane and Argentina’s Lionel Messi are just some of the leading figures in the race currently.
The best player of a World Cup-winning side generally gets his mitts to the golden pot, and that’s the case Real Madrid are making for two of their own players.
Los Blancos reportedly believe that if England or France win the 2026 FIFA World Cup, then Bellingham or Mbappe should win the Ballon d’Or too.
The reasoning behind this apparently is Rodri taking home the Golden Ball over Vinicius Junior in 2024 for helping Spain win the European Championship that year.
On paper, both Bellingham and Mbappe have starred for their teams, netting six and eight goals respectively, as both players are into the semi-finals right now and could come up against each other in the finals if England and France get there.
But Kane isn’t too far behind either. The Bayern Munich ace has carried his club form onto the international stage too, with six goals to his name at the FIFA World Cup, while he also boasts the domestic double of Bundesliga and German Cup this year.
Bellingham and Mbappe were titleless with Madrid last season, something that could weigh against them despite winning the FIFA World Cup. Moreover, Mbappe’s teammate Dembele also won the Champions League with PSG in addition to the Ligue 1 title.
If France win the FIFA World Cup, the forward may well clinch a second Ballon d’Or title in a row, although Messi shouldn’t be counted out either should Argentina go all the way once more.
The 39-year-old won his eighth Ballon d’Or after guiding his national team to a third FIFA World Cup trophy in 2022 and could make it nine this year if the Albiceleste retain their championship.
Real Madrid haven’t had a FIFA World Cup winner to win Ballon d’Or in 20 years
Real Madrid boast the highest number of Ballon d’Or wins in history with 12, jointly shared with arch-rivals Barcelona.
But it’s been 20 years since they’ve had a player win the FIFA World Cup and clinch the Ballon d’Or trophy too.
In 2006, Fabio Cannavaro led Italy to their fourth FIFA World Cup title, which helped him win the Golden Ball while plying his trade with Real Madrid at the time.
Luka Modric was the last Galactico to win the Ballon d’Or in a World Cup year, although Croatia didn’t actually win the 2018 edition.
But this year, Real Madrid have a bright chance of seeing one of their players win the ultimate prize in football as well as the most prestigious individual honor, both.
Edited by Vignesh Raja