By Opta Analyst | Created at 2026-09-08 21:04:21 | Updated at 2026-09-19 01:02:27
1 week ago
With the 2026 Ballon d’Or nominees all revealed, we look at the key stats behind the 30 players who will be in contention for the men’s award on Monday 26 October.
Jude Bellingham
The 2025-26 club season wasn’t especially successful for Jude Bellingham, as Real Madrid went trophyless for the first time since 2009-10.
But he took centre stage for England as they finished third at the World Cup, making it their best showing at that level since winning it in 1966.
Bellingham scored seven goals for the Three Lions, a tally bettered by only Kylian Mbappé (10) and Lionel Messi (8) at this summer’s tournament.
That tally included both goals in the 2-1 quarter-final win over Norway, having also netted a brace in the gripping 3-2 defeat of co-hosts Mexico at the Azteca in the round of 16.
Bellingham rose to the occasion again and again, with his seven goals the most ever by an England player at a single men’s World Cup.
Pau Cubarsí
As well as winning another La Liga title with Barcelona, Pau Cubarsí added the World Cup over the summer, and even won the Young Player of the Tournament award.
Only teammate Rodri (756) completed more passes at the World Cup than Cubarsí (671), but they weren’t all just ‘safe’ passes. No defender completed more progressive passes (open-play passes outside the defensive third that move the ball at least 25% closer to goal) than the Spanish centre-half (33), while only Rodri (122) completed more line-breaking passes than Cubarsí (104).
Marc Cucurella
He may not have been among the most glamorous names in Luis de la Fuente’s squad, but no one played more minutes during Spain’s successful World Cup campaign than Marc Cucurella (750).
The left-back played every minute of every game in North America, making him a key part of comfortably the best defence at the tournament.
Spain conceded just one goal across their eight games and allowed chances worth a mere 0.3 expected goals per game. Cucurella’s trademark feistiness and energy undoubtedly contributed to La Roja winning the World Cup for the second time.
Ousmane Dembélé
Reigning Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembélé is looking to become the first player to win the men’s award in consecutive years since Lionel Messi in 2021.
The Frenchman was involved in more goals for Paris-Saint Germain than any other player last season, with 31 in just 40 games in all competitions (20 goals, 11 assists). On average, he was involved in a goal for PSG every 71 minutes in 2025-26.
Luis Díaz
Luis Díaz had an impressive start to life as a Bayern Munich player, with 45 goal involvements in 51 appearances for the German club in 2025-26.
None of his 26 goals were penalties, while his 19 assists ranked behind only teammate Michael Olise (26) and Man Utd’s Bruno Fernandes (22) across all competitions among players at clubs in the top five European leagues.
Much of Díaz’s threat came from running with the ball at pace in dangerous areas. No player had more take-ons in the opposition’s box than the Colombian in the 2025-26 Bundesliga (30), while 66 of his shot involvements came following a carry – only Olise (78) had more.
Bruno Fernandes
Bruno Fernandes broke the Premier League record for assists in a single season during 2025-26 with 21 for Manchester United. His tally of 136 chances created was also the most by a player in an English top-flight campaign since Mesut Özil’s 146 for Arsenal in 2015-16.
Across all competitions, only Michael Olise (26) assisted more goals for a club from the top five European leagues than Fernandes, but the Portuguese was the leading chance creator overall with 142 chances created for United.
Gabriel Magalhães
Despite making it all the way to the 2026 Champions League final and playing 15 matches in total, Arsenal still conceded the fewest goals of any side in the 2025-26 edition (7). Their xG faced per game was also just 0.9, the lowest total of any team.
That was in no small part due to the efforts of Gabriel Magalhães who, together with William Saliba formed arguably the best centre-back partnership in world football. That defensive solidity took them all the way to the Champions League final, where Gabriel’s missed penalty in the shootout was the decisive kick.
He still had an excellent campaign, though. The Brazilian was key to Arsenal’s title-winning domestic season, keeping more clean sheets (17) than any other defender in the Premier League as the champions conceded just 27 goals all season. That was eight fewer than any other side (Man City next best on 35), and Arsenal’s best defensive record since the Invincibles conceded 26 in 2003-04.
While Gabriel was on the pitch, Arsenal only conceded 20 goals. At a rate of one every 138 minutes, that was the best ratio of any defender in the Premier League among players to feature for at least 2,000 minutes.
Erling Haaland
Erling Haaland’s 27 Premier League goals for Manchester City in 2025-26 saw him win the competition’s Golden Boot for the third time in four seasons; only Thierry Henry and Mohamed Salah (4) have won the award more often than him.
Haaland also scored 20 goals in just 12 international matches for Norway across the 2025-26 season too, including seven at the World Cup. His two goals in the last-16 win over Brazil meant he’d scored in 14 consecutive competitive internationals.
Achraf Hakimi
Achraf Hakimi captained Morocco at the Africa Cup of Nations, and he can claim to have won the home tournament (appeal pending). It remains to be seen whether the Atlas Lions or Senegal will ultimately be awarded the title.
Hakimi’s nomination for the Ballon d’Or, though, is likely more to do with another stellar season for PSG. The right-back scored three goals and assisted a further eight in 32 games in all competitions last season; only three of his teammates managed more assists.
He also created 17 chances for Morocco at the World Cup; only four players created more at the whole tournament.
Harry Kane
Harry Kane scored a career-best 61 goals in 51 appearances for Bayern Munich across all competitions in 2025-26, 19 more than any other player for a club from the top five European leagues.
Thirty-six of his goals came in the Bundesliga, which secured him the European Golden Shoe for a second time – only Lionel Messi (6) and Cristiano Ronaldo (4) have won it more often.
Should Kane win the 2026 Ballon d’Or, he’d be the first English player to win it since Michael Owen in 2001.
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia tallied 29 goal involvements for Paris Saint-Germain in 2025-26, with 19 goals and 10 assists. His 19 goals was a personal best in a single season of club football.
The Georgian forward is one of the best dribblers in world football and averaged 2.7 successful take-ons per 90 in Ligue 1 last season – no player to play over 1,400 minutes of action could match this.
Lamine Yamal
Despite only turning 19 in July, Lamine Yamal was still one of the most impressive attacking players across Europe in 2025-26.
The Barcelona winger was involved in 41 goals for Barcelona last season (24 goals, 17 assists). To further emphasise his feats in 2025-26, Yamal’s 41 goal involvements as a teenager was 19 more than any other player while aged under 20 for a club from the top five European leagues across all competitions (Yan Diomande – 22).
No La Liga player assisted more goals (17) or created more chances (118) in all competitions than Yamal last term, and he led all players across the top five European leagues for open-play chances created (107 in all comps).
Sadio Mané
Perhaps a surprising nomination, but it was a productive year for Sadio Mané. The former Liverpool and Bayern Munich winger won silverware for club and country, playing a key role in Senegal winning the Africa Cup of Nations (or finishing as runners-up, depending on whatever appeal process you believe).
Mané recorded two goals and three assists in Morocco, but arguably more impressively, he created 19 chances from open play, at least eight more than any other player at the AFCON. He also created more than twice as many chances from open play for Senegal (12) as any of his teammates at the World Cup this summer.
Mané also managed 10 goals and six assists in 25 games for Al-Nassr on their way to winning the Saudi Pro League.
Marquinhos
The PSG captain led his team to a second consecutive Champions League title, having also won his 11th Ligue 1 title.
Marquinhos was one of the players Luis Enrique largely saved for the Champions League, with 15 of his 32 appearances for PSG in all competitions last season coming in the UCL.
His leadership and defensive solidity helped them navigate their way to another success in the competition, lifting the famous trophy aloft in Budapest following their penalty-shootout win over Arsenal.
Marquinhos also started all five of Brazil’s games at the World Cup, though they were eliminated by Norway in the last 16.
Lautaro Martínez
Lautaro Martínez shone once again for Inter in 2025-26, scoring 22 goals and assisting six more in 45 competitive games for the club. It was the fifth consecutive season in which Martínez scored 20+ goals in all competitions for Inter.
Seventeen of his goals came in Serie A, giving him his second capocannoniere award (top scorer) in three seasons – only two foreign players have won the award more often than him in Italian Serie A history: Gunnar Nordahl (5) and Michel Platini (3).
He also scored eight times for Argentina in 14 games across the 2026 Ballon d’Or qualification period – only Lionel Messi (13) scored more often for the national team in that timeframe.
Kylian Mbappé
Kylian Mbappé finished as top goalscorer in both La Liga (25 goals) and the UEFA Champions League (15) last season, scoring 42 goals in 44 goals across all competitions for Real Madrid.
With 10 goals at the 2026 finals, Mbappé then became the all-time leading goalscorer in men’s FIFA World Cup history at the age of 27. He eventually won the Golden Boot for the second successive World Cup, becoming the first player to win the men’s award more than once.
Nuno Mendes
Another solid year for the all-action PSG left-back. Nuno Mendes was one of only two PSG players to start all 17 of their Champions League games on the road to success (along with Willian Pacho).
He won possession 102 times in last season’s Champions League, more than any other player.
But he’s also a threat going the other way. Mendes created four big chances for Portugal at the World Cup; only three players created more in the whole tournament.
Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi managed a frankly ridiculous 52 goal involvements in just 30 Major League Soccer appearances for Inter Miami over the qualifying period for the 2026 Ballon d’Or award, topping both the goal (29) and assist (23) rankings in the competition. He also created the most chances in MLS both overall (97) and from open play (78) over the period in question.
Internationally, Messi scored 13 goals and assisted seven more in 14 games for Argentina between 3 August 2025 to 19 July 2026, including 12 goal involvements at the 2026 World Cup – his last edition of the tournament.
João Neves
Seven goals and four assists for João Neves for PSG in all competitions barely tells the story of how integral the Portuguese midfielder was for Luis Enrique.
He only played 14 of PSG’s 17 Champions League games on their way to glory in Budapest, but he still made the most tackles (32) and interceptions (19) for PSG in the competition.
Neves also won six aerial duels for PSG in the Champions League final (out of 10), the most of any player. Quite remarkable when you consider he’s only 5-foot-9, but a real sign of his tenacity.
Michael Olise
In Michael Olise’s second season at Bayern Munich, he contributed 48 goal involvements in 52 appearances (22 goals, 26 assists). He was the only player across the top five European leagues to both score and assist 20+ goals in all competitions.
One of the best creators in the men’s game right now, no player assisted more goals than Olise (6) in the UEFA Champions League last season, while he also had the highest expected assists total (4.9).
He then tallied the most assists on record (since 1966) in a single men’s FIFA World Cup, with seven for France in North America.
Willian Pacho
A rock at the back for PSG, mopping up on the rare occasions their midfield is exposed.
Willian Pacho made 81 tackles for PSG in all competitions last season; only Warren Zaïre-Emery made more (84), and he played 10 more games than Pacho (54 to 44).
The Ecuador international also played a key role in the Champions League final against Arsenal, making 11 clearances, the most for PSG in the game, with only Arsenal’s Gabriel making more (13).
Julián Quiñones
Julián Quiñones enjoyed his best ever domestic season in front of goal in 2025-26 as the Al-Qadsiah forward netted 37 times in 35 appearances across all competitions. Thirty-three of those goals came in the Saudi Pro League, making him the top scorer in the competition last season ahead of Ivan Toney (32) and Cristiano Ronaldo (28).
Quiñones also performed well at the World Cup, scoring the first goal of the tournament and ultimately top-scoring for co-hosts Mexico with four goals, as well as being their leading chance creator (10).
Declan Rice
“It’s not done yet”.
If there was one player who typified Arsenal’s title-winning campaign in 2025-26, then it was surely Declan Rice. The all-action midfielder was a near ever-present for Mikel Arteta last season. No outfielder played more league minutes for Arsenal last season than Rice (3,099), with the England international missing just one of their 38 league matches in 2025-26.
Rice brought extreme physicality to Arsenal’s midfield, leading all Arsenal players for ball recoveries per 90 minutes (5.2) and total distance covered (391.1km).
One of Arsenal’s defining characteristics under Arteta has been their set-piece prowess. Rice led the entire Premier League for xG created from corners (2.7) and shots following his corners (56).
Rodri
Few would have seriously suggested Rodri based on last season at club level. The Spanish midfielder – who won the Ballon d’Or two years ago – struggled to find his best form for Manchester City after recovering from an ACL injury.
However, his now-former manager Pep Guardiola was adamant he would be back to his best in time for the 2026 World Cup, and boy, was he right.
Rodri was central to Spain’s success in North America, making the most successful passes at a single men’s World Cup in the last 60 years (756). He also made 122 line-breaking passes at the 2026 World Cup, the most by any player since Xabi Alonso in 2010 (126).
Not only did he captain Spain to World Cup glory, but he was also awarded the prestigious Golden Ball as the best player at the tournament.
Fabián Ruiz
The only man who has Champions League and World Cup winners’ medals in the last year, Fabián Ruiz should probably be one of the front runners for the award. He is one of only 10 players ever to have won the World Cup and the European Cup/Champions League in the same season, while playing both finals.
Ruiz scored two goals and assisted five more in 34 games in all competitions for PSG, before playing a part in all eight games for Spain at the World Cup (four starts), scoring the opening goal of the quarter-final victory over Belgium.
William Saliba
The elegance to Gabriel’s steel. William Saliba played 31 matches in Arsenal’s league-winning campaign last season, and his absence was felt in the games he missed. Arsenal won 71.0% of the matches in which he appeared, compared to just 57.1% of those he didn’t feature in.
Saliba was dribbled past on just seven occasions in the Premier League last season. Of defenders to play as many minutes as Saliba, only Virgil van Dijk (2) and Ezri Konsa (4) were beaten fewer times.
In possession, he was equally assured. Saliba completed 92.9% of his passes across the 2025-26 Premier League campaign, the third-best accuracy of any player to attempt at least 2,000 passes.
Ferran Torres
Ferran Torres enjoyed a decent 2025-26 season at club level with Barcelona, tallying 24 goal involvements across all competitions at a rate of 0.8 per 90 minutes, helping the club retain their La Liga crown.
His nomination probably has more to do with his role in Spain’s World Cup success, however.
Torres only managed two goal involvements across 283 minutes of action, but the second of those was rather important.
It was his emphatic left-footed finish early in the second half of extra-time that settled the final, earning Spain a 1-0 win over Argentina and a second World Cup.
Dayot Upamecano
The 2025-26 season was almost a perfect season for Dayot Upamecano. He helped Bayern Munich to a Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal double but had to make do with semi-final finishes in the Champions League and World Cup.
For a while, France looked to be the team to beat in North America this summer, only to be outdone by eventual winners Spain in the semis. The only outfielder to rack up more minutes than Upamecano (661) for Les Bleus at the World Cup was Kylian Mbappé (698).
The one game he didn’t start was the third-place play-off defeat to England. He came on at half-time with France 4-0 down; they only conceded two after his introduction, though still lost 6-4.
Prior to the semis, France conceded just two goals in six games, and Upamecano played all but the last 14 minutes against Norway.
Vinícius Júnior
Vinícius Júnior was involved in 32 of Real Madrid’s goals in all competitions last season, scoring 22 and assisting 10 more – only Kylian Mbappé (48) had a hand in more for Los Blancos.
The Brazilian is one of the most dangerous players in world football when running at opposition defences. He had more shot involvements following a ball carry (running with the ball 5+ metres) across all competitions in 2025-26 than any other player in the top five European leagues (139 – 81 shots, 58 chances created).
Vitinha
Yes, another PSG star, and one of the shiniest of them all. Vitinha was superb again in the middle of the park for the French and European champions last season.
Everyone knows about his passing proficiency – he completed 1,589 passes in the Champions League last season, a whopping 481 more than anyone else – but he also did his work off the ball. No player won possession in the opposition’s final third as often as Vitinha did (17).
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