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Jude Bellingham narrowly missed out on the top 10 of the 2026 men’s Ballon d’Or, finishing 11th in the official rankings published ahead of Monday night’s ceremony in London.
The Real Madrid midfielder leads the list of players outside the top 10, followed by Barcelona defender Pau Cubarsí in 12th place, while Paris Saint-Germain’s Achraf Hakimi and Vitinha occupy 13th and 14th place respectively. Project reports
Organizers also confirmed that Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes finished 27th, Real Madrid striker Vinícius Júnior finished 17th and Arsenal defender William Saliba and Senegalese striker Sadio Mané shared 29th place.
Attention has now turned to the final 10 contenders, including France captain Kylian Mbappé, England striker Harry Kane and Barcelona teenager Lamine Yamal, whose exact positions are expected to be revealed during the ceremony at the London Palladium.
The remaining contenders are listed in alphabetical order on the official Ballon d’Or website, rather than in order of final ranking.
Complete Ballon d’Or 2026 ranking: from 11th to 29th
The official rankings released so far are as follows:
- 11: Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid/England)
- 12: Pau Cubarsi (Barcelona/Spain)
- 13: Achraf Hakimi (Paris Saint-Germain/Morocco)
- 14: Vitinha (Paris Saint-Germain/Portugal)
- 3pm: Declan Rice (Arsenal/England)
- 16: Ferran Torres (Barcelona/Spain)
- 5pm: Vinícius Júnior (Real Madrid/Brazil)
- 6pm: Marc Cucurella (Chelsea/Spain)
- 19: João Neves (Paris Saint-Germain/Portugal)
- 20: Willian Pacho (Paris Saint-Germain/Ecuador)
- 9pm: Gabriel Magalhães (Arsenal/Brazil)
- 22: Lautaro Martínez (Inter/Argentina)
- 23: Nuno Mendes (Paris Saint-Germain/Portugal)
- 24: Luis Díaz (Bayern Munich/Colombia)
- 25: Marquinhos (Paris Saint-Germain/Brazil)
- 26: Dayot Upamecano (Bayern Munich/France)
- 27: Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United/Portugal)
- 28: Julián Quiñones (Al-Qadsiah/Mexico)
- 29: Sadio Mané (Al-Nassr/Senegal) and William Saliba (Arsenal/France), tied.
The published list leaves Bellingham just outside the top 10, while several high-profile players finished lower than some supporters might have predicted.
Bellingham misses the top 10 while Vinícius finishes 17th
Bellingham’s 11th place finish means the England international narrowly missed out on a place in the top 10 players in the voting.
The midfielder has remained an influential figure for Real Madrid, but his position reflects the competition among the players shortlisted for the award.
His Brazilian teammate Vinícius Júnior finished 17th, while several other top names also failed to crack the top 10.
Arsenal’s Rice finished 15th, while central defender Gabriel Magalhães finished 21st. The Gunners’ Saliba shared 29th place with Mané.
For Manchester United, Fernandes finished 27th despite being the club captain and one of Portugal’s main midfielders.
PSG, meanwhile, had several players featured in the published rankings, including Hakimi, Vitinha, João Neves, Pacho, Nuno Mendes and Marquinhos.
Mbappé, Kane and Yamal among the 10 final contenders
The remaining 10 players are Mbappé, Kane, Yamal, Erling Haaland, Lionel Messi, Rodri, Ousmane Dembélé, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Michael Olise and Fabián Ruiz.
Their names were published in alphabetical order, meaning the order does not indicate who came first, second or third.
Mbappé remains in contention after another prolific season for Real Madrid, while Kane’s record with Bayern Munich has strengthened his case for the award.
Yamal, meanwhile, continued to attract attention following his performances for Barcelona and Spain.
Also part of the group are reigning Ballon d’Or winner Dembélé, Manchester City striker Haaland, Argentina great Messi and Spain midfielder Rodri.
The final ranking will determine how the contenders finished in the voting and whether Kane, Mbappé, Yamal or another candidate emerges as the winner.
How the winner of the Ballon d’Or is determined
The men’s Ballon d’Or is decided by an international jury made up of journalists representing the top 100 countries in the FIFA men’s world rankings.
Each journalist selects and ranks 10 players from the official list, with points awarded based on their positions on their ballots. The player who accumulates the highest total wins the prize.
The criteria include individual performances, team results and fair play during the evaluation period.
The 2026 ceremony will be held at the London Palladium, with organizers gradually revealing the rankings before announcing the winner.
With the top 20 places secured, attention turns to the final 10 and the identity of the player who will succeed Dembélé as the men’s Ballon d’Or winner.
The official announcement will decide the contest after weeks of debate over the relative merits of Kane, Mbappé, Yamal and the other main contenders.
