Everyone already knows that players like Lamine Yamal, Harry Kane, and Kylian Mbappe are going to be competing for the 2025/26 Ballon d’Or, but there are so many underrated footballers who should also be in the conversation.
Here are five footballers who are tearing it up right now in the 2025/26 season and need to be on your radar as underrated candidates to make the final 30-man shortlist for this season’s Ballon d’Or in 2026.
Como AM Nico Paz
Real Madrid prospect Nico Paz is by far the biggest talent to watch in Serie A, and even Roma icon Francesco Totti admitted that the Spanish international is the only young gem he even bothers keeping glued to in Calcio.
Paz is a matchwinner for Como and has the up-and-comers in contention for European football on the back of his incredible creativity, underrated goal-scoring ability, and quiet leadership at the heart of this midfield.
The 21-year-old runs the show and has six goal contributions in six games with a robust average of 3.5 key passes per game and 3.7 combined dribbles completed and fouls drawn per match.
He is, quietly, the best playmaker in world football right now.
Hamburg CB Luka Vuskovic
Center backs deserve more love in Ballon d’Or discussions, but only if they are truly transcendent. And even though he is just 18 years old, Luka Vuskovic looks like the next superstar in central defense and is making those Spurs fans comparisons of him to Sergio Ramos actually look somewhat true.
Vuskovic has been a monster through four games on loan at Hamburg, and they just might hang onto a spot in the Bundesliga with his ability to shore up the entire defense.
The Croatian international is averaging an astounding 7.3 aerial duels and 12.3 clearances per game. He is rarely dribbled past, he reads the game so well beyond his years, and he scarcely has to make a tackle. And oh by the way, he’s pretty good at contributing to the attack, too.
Eintracht Frankfurt AM Can Uzun
Another massive breakout star in the Bundesliga, Can Uzun is the best of the many stellar young playmakers ready to take the reigns from new Liverpool signing Florian Wirtz as the next elite 10’s in German football.
Uzun is also the finest of the many gems in Frankfurt, making the likes of Hugo Ekitike and Omar Marmoush mere memories. The 19-year-old has a whopping five goals and three assists in six games, outproducing even Nico Paz in terms of end product.
Paris FC RW Ilan Kebbal
Almost nobody knows who Ilan Kebbal is, because the Paris FC breakout star isn’t exactly a young player. At 27, he is in the prime of his career, but he’s burst out of nowhere to give the OTHER team in Paris serious hopes that they can do some damage upon their introduction to Ligue 1.
Kebbal has been one of the most productive wingers in world football with minimal fanfare, scoring four goals with two assists while averaging exactly two key passes and four combined dribbles completed and fouls drawn per game for a team that has snuck into eighth in the table at the October international break.
Chelsea DM Moises Caicedo
The only player from a top club on this list of five, Moises Caicedo is a bona fide Premier League Player of the Season candidate, too, but the Ecuadorian international is still underrated in the Ballon d’Or vote by virtue of the position he plays and even the Chelsea teammates who overshadow him.
A ball-winning machine who has also scored three goals this season despite primarily being a defensive player, Caicedo is the ultimate equalizer for Chelsea. He shuts attacks down and is able to elevate his game against other players who claim to be the best 6’s and 8’s in the Premier League.
Joe Soriano is the editor of The Trivela Effect and a FanSided Hall of Famer who has covered world football since 2010. He’s led top digital communities like The Real Champs (Real Madrid) and has run sites covering Tottenham, Liverpool, Juventus, and Schalke. He also helped manage NFL Spin Zone and Daily DDT, covering the NFL and pro wrestling.