Ballon d’Or Debate: Who Will Claim the Crown?

The Ballon d’Or debate rarely waits for the ceremony. It starts in World Cup summers, on podiums and in press rooms, and this year is no different.

Spain’s triumph in North America has thrown a harsh spotlight on everyone else. Rodri, already crowned Ballon d’Or winner in 2024, has put together another season of control and authority, the metronome of a side that conquered the world. Alongside him, the dazzling rise of his new Barcelona team-mate Lamine Yamal gives voters a fresh, irresistible narrative: the teenage prodigy carrying a nation’s flair into a new era.

But the conversation never stays in one country for long.

Harry Kane has bulldozed his way into the argument with sheer numbers. Sixty-one goals for Bayern as they stormed to another Bundesliga title is a return that would, in most eras, make him the automatic favourite. The problem sits in Europe. Bayern fell short in the 2026 Champions League, and in this award, the absence of that trophy still weighs heavily. The goals are historic. The medal collection is not.

While Bayern stumbled, Paris Saint-Germain did not. Back-to-back Champions League crowns have turned Parc des Princes into the centre of the club game, and that kind of dominance usually drags individual awards with it. Ousmane Dembele, reborn and decisive on the biggest stage, has a genuine case to follow his club’s European double with his own Golden Ball push. He is not alone in that dressing room, either. Several of his PSG team-mates now stand one strong campaign away from the summit.

Yet when French legends talk about the “best in the world”, the spotlight keeps swinging to one man.

Bacary Sagna, the former Arsenal, Manchester City and France defender, sees the landscape clearly but not conventionally. Speaking to GOAL, he acknowledged Kylian Mbappe’s status among the elite, but then swerved away from the obvious conclusion.

“For me the best at the minute, he's in the top three,” Sagna said of Mbappe. “He had an amazing year and he is for me one of the best. But being a striker gives more chances to score, so more chances for the people to look at him favourably.”

Then came the twist.

“For me, Kvara deserves the Ballon d'Or. For me, Kvara [Khvicha Kvaratskhelia] has been phenomenal and being a winger and having such an impact and successful campaign. Apart from winning the Champions League, I think football players will agree that Kvara was the most important player last season.”

In a race often reduced to goals and glitter, Sagna is backing influence over headlines. Kvaratskhelia’s season, in his eyes, carried a different weight: a winger dictating games, deciding campaigns, and doing it without the security blanket of a Champions League winners’ medal.

Sagna still reserves admiration for Mbappe’s global exploits. “Of course Kylian had an amazing World Cup and I was pleased to see him scoring so many goals, not only because he's French but because I love football,” he added. For Sagna, Mbappe’s current level is not in doubt. “That's his standard, that's his level and he is in the top few players. He might be the top, the best player in the world, but the problem is how impactful were you for your team last season?”

That question hangs over Madrid.

Real Madrid have now gone two seasons without a major trophy. In that time, Mbappe has done almost everything an individual can: two La Liga Golden Boots, 90 goals in 106 appearances, and the kind of highlight reel that usually ends with a golden statue. Yet the cabinet remains bare where it matters most.

Louis Saha, another former France international, understands the tension around Mbappe’s legacy. Asked by GOAL whether the former Monaco and PSG forward will ever claim the Ballon d’Or, Saha did not sugar-coat the stakes.

“That's a difficult one, because for sure he wants to win those trophies,” Saha said. “He knows that by winning the Champions League, you have a greater chance to win the Ballon d'Or. He knows that that's the way to put all the qualities in front of the best eyes to be judged.”

The narrative around Mbappe has taken a strange turn. He left PSG just as the club finally learned how to win Europe’s biggest prize consistently. He joined Real Madrid, a club built on European nights, only to see them fall short of the finals.

“I do understand that the pressure is on because now it's been almost a very controversial way of not being in those finals,” Saha admitted. “He left the club that won it and now going to a club which is supposed to be one of the favourites, and they don't reach the finals.”

Then came the bluntest line of all.

“It's starting to question a little bit on the personal side. Let's say on the spiritual side, he seems to be a black cat in a way. So that's the bad line that he wants to rectify as quickly as possible.”

It is a harsh image: Mbappe as the superstar who attracts goals but not the trophies that define eras. Saha, though, insists the talent and drive are still pointing towards eventual glory.

“It's always nice to see someone succeed and reach their goals when they have the potential. I think he deserves it. Regardless of people criticising his style of play, he wants to have everything.

“Every situation needs to be about him and that's the proof of greats. But sometimes if things don’t work out, it's easy to criticise. If Cristiano couldn't convert all these trophies that he had over the years, he would have been doomed a long time ago.”

So the race for the next Ballon d’Or sharpens into focus. Spain’s champions, Kane’s avalanche of goals, PSG’s serial winners, Kvaratskhelia’s artistry and influence, Mbappe’s relentless pursuit of a crown that still eludes him.

The numbers are on the table. The medals are being counted. Now the voters must decide what matters most: the shine of the trophy, or the shadow a player casts over an entire season.