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Harry Kane favourite for 2026 Ballon d'Or, Ronaldo snubbed

Kane leads the 30-man shortlist after 73 goals for Bayern, with Messi, Mbappe and Yamal as rivals; Ronaldo misses out despite his Saudi title.

Published 1 min read Sportpul editorial
Kane celebrates a goal in Bayern Munich's red kit with arms outstretched in front of the crowd

Harry Kane has been installed as the bookmakers' favourite for the 2026 Ballon d'Or after the 30-man shortlist was announced on Tuesday, with Cristiano Ronaldo left off the list despite winning the Saudi Pro League with Al-Nassr.

Kane scored 73 goals last season for Bayern Munich, one of the best campaigns of his career. A win in London would make him the first Englishman to lift the award since Michael Owen in 2001. He is joined on the shortlist by international team-mates Jude Bellingham and Declan Rice, along with other Premier League names including Bruno Fernandes, Erling Haaland, Gabriel and William Saliba.

Paris St-Germain have the strongest representation of any club, with nine nominees before even counting Ferran Torres, who joined from Barcelona in the summer and scored the winning goal in the World Cup final. PSG retained the Champions League last season, and Ousmane Dembele, last year's winner, is among those defending the title.

Lionel Messi is nominated as he chases a ninth Ballon d'Or. The 39-year-old scored eight goals for Argentina as they lost the World Cup final to Spain in July, and has since retired from international football. Lamine Yamal is one of six Spain players from that World Cup-winning squad on the list, alongside Real Madrid pair Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Jr.

The women's award follows the same 30-player format, with England's Alessia Russo and Alex Greenwood among the nominees.

This is the 70th edition of the Ballon d'Or, first awarded by France Football in 1956, and the ceremony moves outside Paris for the first time. It will be held in London on October 26, a choice organisers have linked to Sir Stanley Matthews, the Englishman who won the inaugural award.

A Kane win would end a run stretching back a quarter of a century for English football's biggest individual prize, though Messi's ninth bid and PSG's strength in numbers suggest the contest will not be settled easily before October.

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