Who Will Win The 2026 Ballon D'Or?
In what is worldwide football's night of nights - Paris Saint-Germain superstar Ousmane Dembele was crowned the Ballon d'Or winner.
In doing so, Dembele ended up being simply the 2nd PSG player and the 6th Frenchman to win the distinguished specific award.
He claimed the reward ahead of Barcelona's Lamine Yamal and fellow PSG colleague Vitinha - who completed second and third respectively.
Dembele played a substantial function in PSG's success last season - with 36 goals and 15 assists throughout all competitors en path a treble, consisting of a Ligue 1 title and the Coupe de France.
However - it was their Champions League victory in May that showed the most significant, as it marked the first time PSG have actually won the European prize.
And they did so in design - with Dembele and Co thrashing Inter Milan 5-0 in the last at Munich's Allianz Arena.
With the 2025 Ballon d'Or event now done and dusted - attention turns to who will be crowned the winner in 2026.
Therefore, let's take a look at who are the early favourites to claim the award next year according to Sky Bet.
Who are the favourites to claim the 2026 Ballon d'Or award? Sky Bet chances exposed
Lamine Yamal
Arguably among the best teenage footballers in history - Barcelona super star Yamal has opened as the best-backed with Sky Bet at 5/2 to win the 2026 .
Yamal had an exceptional 2024-25 season en route to runner-up in the Ballon d'Or - with the 18-year-old netting 18 goals and registering 25 assists throughout all competitors.
His contribution was essential in assisting Barcelona claim a domestic treble - as Hansi Flick's side declared their 28nd league title, 32nd Copa del Rey and the Spanish Super Cup.
Can Yamal construct on his individual and team success and become the youngest player in history to win the Ballon d'Or? He is more than efficient in doing so.
Yamal has began his 2025-26 season strong, with the winger tape-recording five objective contributions in 3 league games to date.
Kylian Mbappe
Although former PSG superstar Kylian Mbappe had an excellent first project for Real Madrid statistically - of which included 44 goals and five assists - it didn't result in silverware.
Real Madrid failed to get a significant prize in 2024-25 - with Los Blancos ending up 2nd in the league and bailing out in the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
Additionally, they went down 5-2 and 3-2 at the hands of El Classico rivals Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup and Copa del Rey finals respectively.
However, needs to Mbappe have a comparable output this season and Real Madrid have the ability to get several trophies - don't be amazed if the 26-year-old is a strong competitor for next year's Ballon d'Or award.
He has started his 2025-26 project extremely well - with the winger netting seven goals in six league video games so far this season.
With the above in mind, for those anticipating Mbappe to claim his maiden Ballon d'Or in 2026 - he is a 5/1 second-favourite according to Sky Bet.
Ousmane Dembele
The abovementioned Dembele has opened as a third-favourite to claim back-to-back Ballon d'Or awards - with the Frenchman priced at 13/2 odds.
If he were to do so, he would become the eighth gamer in history to win the award in succeeding seasons.
Dembele has had three goal contributions in as numerous video games in the French top-flight this season.
Vinicius Jr, Mohamed Salah, Harry Kane & Erling Haaland
Real Madrid's Vinicius Jr., Liverpool's Mohamed Salah, Bayern Munich's Harry Kane, and Manchester City's Erling Haaland complete the 5 favourites in the market.
Vinicius is a sole fourth-favourite at 8/1, while Salah, Kane and Haaland are joint fifth-favourites at 11/1.
Vinicius has three goals and three assists in 6 league games in 2025-26, while Salah has actually had four goal contributions in the English top-flight to date this season.
Additionally, Haaland presently leads the Premier League's goalscoring tally with 6, while Kane has an impressive 13 objectives and 3 assists in simply 7 games for Bayern across all competitions.
Sky Bet favourites to win the 2026 Ballon d'Or:
Lamine Yamal 5/2
Kylian Mbappe 5/1
Ousmane Dembele 13/2
Vinicius Jr. 8/1
Mohamed Salah 11/1
Harry Kane 11/1
Erling Haaland 11/1