Lionel Messi finished fifth in the 2026 Ballon d'Or rankings, a year after he was left off the 30-man shortlist entirely. The award itself went to Harry Kane at a ceremony held at the London Palladium on Monday, October 26.
Messi's placing was driven by his performances at the 2026 World Cup in North America, where he scored eight goals and added four assists, finishing second in the Golden Boot race and winning the Silver Ball. He led Argentina to the final, the third of his career at a World Cup, where they lost 1-0 to Spain after extra time.
Kylian Mbappé and Lamine Yamal finished second and third respectively, unable to overtake Kane's voting points. Rodri, who won the Ballon d'Or in 2024 while at Manchester City and joined Barcelona in August, came in fourth after winning the World Cup with Spain and collecting the tournament's Golden Ball. Messi's fifth-place finish matches his position from 2018.
The rest of the top ten featured Khvicha Kvaratskhelia of Paris Saint-Germain in sixth and Ousmane Dembélé in seventh. Erling Haaland jumped from 26th the previous year to eighth, helped by his scoring for Manchester City and a seven-goal haul at the World Cup. Bayern Munich's Michael Olise and PSG's Fabián Ruiz rounded out the top ten.
Kane ends England's long wait
Kane became the first English player to win the Ballon d'Or since Michael Owen in 2001. The Bayern Munich striker scored 73 goals across all competitions for club and country this season, the second-highest single-season tally on record behind only Messi's 82 in 2011-12.
Accepting the trophy, Kane said: "Thank you to everyone who voted for me, I can imagine it was tough, so thank you." He also thanked his Bayern Munich teammates, naming Michael Olise, Dayot Upamecano and Luis Díaz.
Kane reflected on his time at Tottenham Hotspur, saying: "I want to say thank you to Tottenham Hotspur as well. I wouldn't be where I am today without Tottenham, for sure. I was there from when I was 11 years old. All the guidance, all the coaches, you allowed me to live my dream. So for sure, without all those moments together, all the ups and downs have led me to this moment today." He also sent his best wishes to Bayern coach Vincent Kompany, who he said was at home or possibly still in hospital.
Messi absent from London
Messi did not attend the gala. Three days earlier, on October 23, he was honoured in Oviedo with the Princess of Asturias Award for Sports, which recognised his sustained excellence, humility and commitment to the team game. His absence from London coincided with the start of the Messi Cup, the youth tournament hosted by Inter Miami that runs from October 25 to November 1.
Messi holds eight Ballon d'Or trophies, the most in the award's history.
