Lamine Yamal has walked back his earlier claim that the 2026 Ballon d'Or was essentially a two-horse race between himself and Kylian Mbappé. In a September interview with L'Équipe, the Barcelona and Spain forward praised the rest of the 30-man shortlist and specifically acknowledged Lionel Messi's case, a notable shift from comments he made just weeks earlier.
Back then, Yamal had been blunt about where he thought he stood. "Mbappé and I are the two best players in the world," he said, adding that anyone who watched the matches already knew it. Those remarks came before France Football announced the full 30-man shortlist on September 8, 2026, a list that includes Messi, Rodri and defending winner Ousmane Dembélé alongside Yamal and Mbappé.
A More Measured Yamal
By the time he sat down with L'Équipe, Yamal's tone had softened considerably. He said the other 29 nominees are all incredible players and that their inclusion on the list doesn't surprise him, noting that each contender brings a distinct argument for winning the award.
He pointed specifically to Messi's performances at the 2026 World Cup as the basis for his case, and said fans who view Messi or Rodri as deserving winners are being reasonable. Yamal also argued that goals and trophies alone shouldn't decide the award, name-checking Messi and former Barcelona star Ronaldinho as the kind of players he associates with the Ballon d'Or.
Messi Chasing a Record Ninth Award
Messi, now playing for Inter Miami, returns to the shortlist after missing out in both 2024 and 2025. A win would give him a ninth Ballon d'Or, a tally no other player is close to matching. His case leans heavily on Argentina's run to the World Cup final, where the team lost to Spain.
That final produced plenty of late drama. Spain won 1-0 after extra time on July 19 at MetLife Stadium, with substitute Ferran Torres scoring the winner in the 106th minute after Argentina had been reduced to 10 players. Rodri, the 2024 Ballon d'Or winner, lifted the trophy as Spain's captain, adding a major international title to his own bid for this year's award.
Mbappé and Kane Round Out the Conversation
Mbappé, the player Yamal originally paired himself with, strengthened his own case by finishing as the World Cup's leading scorer. Harry Kane, meanwhile, has kept himself in the conversation through a heavy season of goals, 61 in all competitions for Bayern Munich and a European Golden Shoe on 36 Bundesliga strikes, plus a run of media appearances during the campaign.
Paris Saint-Germain lead all clubs with 10 nominees on the 30-man shortlist, reflecting their Champions League-winning campaign, while Dembélé returns as defending champion. Cristiano Ronaldo, a past winner, is absent from this year's list.
What Comes Next
Voting for the men's award closes on September 28, with a jury of 100 journalists, one from each of the 100 highest-ranked countries in the FIFA rankings used for the award, each ranking 10 players from 15 points down to one. Winners across the men's and women's awards will be revealed at the October 26 ceremony at the London Palladium, the first time the Ballon d'Or has been staged in the city, marking its 70th anniversary since Stanley Matthews won the inaugural award in 1956.
