Ballon d'Or 2026: Dembélé defends title as final rankings revealed Monday in London

The 2026 Ballon d’Or will be awarded Monday evening in London at London Palladium, during a ceremony hosted by Kate Scott and Thierry Henry. The final rankings are unveiled from 5 p.m., with players ranked 30th to 11th announced before the red carpet begins at 7:30 p.m. The winner’s name is expected to be revealed just before 11 p.m.

Ousmane Dembélé, 2025 winner, is among the thirty nominees and will attempt to retain his trophy. Five French players are in contention overall: Dembélé, Kylian Mbappé (Real Madrid), Michael Olise (Bayern Munich), Achraf Hakimi (Paris Saint-Germain) and Joao Neves (Paris Saint-Germain). Among the other major favorites are Lamine Yamal (FC Barcelone), Erling Haaland (Manchester City), Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid) and Lautaro Martínez (Inter Milan).

Organized by France Football magazine and UEFA, the men’s Ballon d’Or is voted by a jury of journalists from the top 100 nations in the FIFA rankings, with one representative per country. Each juror establishes a top 10 according to three hierarchical criteria: individual performances and decisive impact, collective aspect and trophies won, then class and fair play. The first-place finisher in each ranking receives 15 points, second place 12, third place 10, then 8, 7, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1 point down to tenth place. The player with the most points is crowned.

For the first time, the ceremony leaves Paris and the Théâtre du Châtelet to settle in London, marking an unprecedented change of venue in the trophy’s history.