GOAL reported that ballots published after the 2026 Ballon d'Or showed widely differing rankings, with some journalists not placing Lamine Yamal in their top 10. Harry Kane lifted the 2026 Ballon d'Or.
Ballots that left Yamal out
GOAL reported that French outlet Foot Mercato flagged the Belarusian and Croatian ballots as the real eye-openers, with both leaving Lamine Yamal out of their top 10. The Belarusian journalist put Lionel Messi first, Rodri second and Harry Kane third. The Croatian journalist put Rodri first, Erling Haaland second and Lionel Messi third.
Where Yamal appeared elsewhere
Lamine Yamal came fifth on the Colombian journalist's ballot and fourth on the Vietnamese one. Lamine Yamal was fifth on the Ecuadorian list, where Michael Olise, Ousmane Dembele and Kylian Mbappe were among the top four named in the report. The Montenegrin vote had Lamine Yamal in fourth, behind Harry Kane, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Lionel Messi.
Other notable rankings
Rodri took first place with the Croatian, Vietnamese and Czech journalists. In the Czech ballot, Kylian Mbappe came second and Lionel Messi third, while Harry Kane was 10th. The Kosovar journalist put Harry Kane first, ahead of Kylian Mbappe and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia broke into the top three on more than one ballot, including the Kosovar journalist's and the Romanian's. Pau Cubarsi was third with the Swiss journalist and seventh with the Croatian. The Croatian ballot included Vitinha in its top 10.
Voting criteria and format
The report said three main criteria drive the voting: a player's individual performance and decisive impact, the collective achievements and titles won with his team, and sporting conduct and respect for the spirit of the game. The report said each participating country's representative draws up a top 10 from his own point of view, with points handed out according to where the names fall.