Former recipient of Ballon d’Or Ousmane Dembélé presented his picks regarding the candidates for the Ballon d’Or in 2026: he selected Khvicha Kvaratskhelia from Paris Saint-Germain, Harry Kane from Bayern Munich, and Kylian Mbappé. The player shared his top three contenders during his talk with a well-known French newspaper L’Equipe. Though in last year’s awards, Dembélé became the winner of the Ballon d’Or thanks to his superb performance with PSG, he refrained from putting his name forward this time. He also omitted some of the big names including Lionel Messi and Lamine Yamal.
Dembélé was asked about his three leading candidates and said, “Kvaratskhelia, Harry Kane, Kylian Mbappé.” He also explained his reasoning, saying, “In no order: Kvara, Harry Kane, who had a very, very good season, and I think Kylian Mbappé!” The Frenchman believes there are several other players who deserve consideration, including Michael Olise, Lamine Yamal, Fabián Ruiz and PSG defender Willian Pacho. He also suggested the award could stay at PSG for another year, saying, “I think it will remain in the hands of a Paris Saint-Germain player.”
Ousmane Dembélé explains why Lamine Yamal is not top choice for Ballon d’Or 2026
Legendary football player Ousmane Dembl has revealed why he hasn’t included Lamine Yamal in his favorites list for the 2026 Ballon d’Or due to several reasons. In other news, the past winner has nominated Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Harry Kane, and Kylian Mbappé for the most desirable football award. Even though Yamal had a prolific season playing for FC Barcelona along with being crowned with FIFA World cup 2026 for the Spanish team; yet, he says that many other candidates are running for the reward. Dembélé also included the Bayern Munich player Michael Olise as the other aforementioned talent.
When asked specifically about Yamal, Dembélé said, “Yamal isn’t among my top favourites, but I do include him in another group of players who could win it. There are many more. Michael Olise could be among them because he had an incredible season. He was the best player in the Bundesliga,” Dembélé noted. His comments make it clear that he does not think Yamal is out of the race completely, but he places other players ahead of the Barcelona youngster. Yamal remains one of the leading names in the Ballon d’Or conversation after his club and international success.
