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Jude Bellingham has narrowly missed out on the top 10 of the 2026 men’s Ballon d’Or, finishing 11th in the official ranking released ahead of Monday night’s ceremony in London.
The Real Madrid midfielder leads the list of players ranked 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 positions respectively. Blueprint reports
The organisers have also confirmed that Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes finished 27th, Real Madrid forward Vinícius Júnior came 17th, and Arsenal defender William Saliba and Senegalese forward Sadio Mané shared 29th place.
Attention has now shifted 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 alphabetically on the official Ballon d’Or website, rather than in order of their final ranking.
The official rankings released so far are as follows:
The published list leaves Bellingham just outside the top 10, while several high-profile players have finished lower than some supporters might have anticipated.
Bellingham’s 11th-place finish means the England international has narrowly missed a place among the leading 10 players in the voting.
The midfielder has remained an influential figure for Real Madrid, but his position reflects the competition among the shortlisted players for the award.
His Brazilian teammate Vinícius Júnior finished 17th, while several other prominent names also failed to make the top 10.
Arsenal’s Rice was ranked 15th, while centre-back Gabriel Magalhães finished 21st. The Gunners’ Saliba shared 29th place with Mané.
For Manchester United, Fernandes finished 27th despite his standing as the club’s captain and one of Portugal’s leading midfielders.
PSG, meanwhile, had several players featured in the published rankings, including Hakimi, Vitinha, João Neves, Pacho, Nuno Mendes and Marquinhos.
The remaining 10 players are Mbappé, Kane, Yamal, Erling Haaland, Lionel Messi, Rodri, Ousmane Dembélé, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Michael Olise and Fabián Ruiz.
Their names have been published alphabetically, meaning the order does not indicate who finished first, second or third.
Mbappé remains in contention after another prolific season for Real Madrid, while Kane’s scoring record for Bayern Munich has strengthened his case for the award.
Yamal, meanwhile, has continued to attract attention following his performances for Barcelona and Spain.
The group also includes reigning Ballon d’Or holder 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 nominee emerges as the winner.
The men’s Ballon d’Or is decided by an international jury of journalists representing the top 100 countries in the FIFA men’s world rankings.
Each journalist selects and ranks 10 players from the official shortlist, with points awarded according to the positions on their ballots. The player who accumulates the highest total wins the award.
The criteria include individual performances, team achievements and fair play during the assessment period.
The 2026 ceremony is being held at the London Palladium, with the organisers revealing the rankings in stages before announcing the winner.
With the first 20 places now accounted for, the focus is on 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 settle the contest after weeks of debate over the relative merits of Kane, Mbappé, Yamal and the other leading contenders.
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