The deadlines have passed, the votes have been tallied and verified, all that is left is to crown the outstanding male footballer of the 2025-26 season. That might be easier said than done. Twelve months ago it was quite obvious that Ousmane Dembele would be taking home this prize.
He had the narrative, he had the performances and he had the silverware. In years without major international tournaments it is often the case that being the best team on the Champions League winner is enough and so it proved for Dembele, who only really fulfilled the promise of a career in the back half of Paris Saint-Germain's breakout season. Mohamed Salah and Raphinha had cases based on individual performance but when it came down to medals, it really was hard to see past Dembele.
He fulfilled all the criteria. This time the very best performers of the club season did not take home that one extra trophy to buttress their campaign. Bayern Munich and Barcelona won their domestic leagues.
The English champions almost exist as a counter to the individual qualities the Ballon d'Or glorifies. Arsenal won the league in spite of the absence of their star forwards, a triumph of depth and resilience that is unlikely to earn them many podium spots. Paris Saint-Germain repeated the league and Champions League double but half their strongest XI barely showed up in Ligue 1.
Dembele can hardly repeat off around 2500 minutes for club and country last season. As is always the case, the World Cup promises to warp voting. It clarifies little among the front runners.
Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappe had great individual tournaments but one of the Ballon d'Or's three criteria is "team performances and achievements". England and France fell short there. Lamine Yamal fulfills that, but Spain's triumph was one of the collective, the greatest prize in the sport won despite their forward struggling with injury.
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