Harry Kane became the first English player to win the Ballon d'Or, beating the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Lamine Yamal and Lionel Messi to the 2026 award.
The Bayern Munich and England star was incredible for club and country during the 2025-26 season, scoring an unbelievable 73 goals. That makes Kane the second-highest-scoring player in a single season since 2000 (only behind Messi).
But the Three Lions captain wouldn't have been crowned the world's best player if it were down to just statistics. In fact, he would've only finished third according to SofaScore's season ratings for the 2025-26 campaign, which was crucial to the Ballon d'Or.
30th-21st
REUTERS/Hannah Mckay
According to the data, World Cup winners Marc Cucurella and Ferran Torres were the 30th and 29th best players out of the nominees. In reality, they finished 18th and 16th, respectively.
Meanwhile, five of Paris Saint-Germain's Champions League winners (Willian Pacho, Achraf Hakimi, Fabian Ruiz, Marquinhos and Joao Neves) weren't in the top 20. Ruiz, who just finished in the top 10, was the biggest overperformer of all 30 men.
Ballon d'Or Power Rankings
Ballon d'Or Power Rankings
Inter Milan and Argentina striker Lautaro Martinez was in the right section after achieving a 7.07 season rating. As was Dayot Upamecano. The Frenchman was given a 7.09 rating by SofaScore.
||
'True' Ballon d'Or Rankings Based on Stats (30-21)
Rank
30.
29.
28.
27.
26.
25.
24.
23.
22.
21.
20th-11th
REUTERS/ Phil Noble
The 2026 World Cup seems to have had a big impact on those voting for the Ballon d'Or this year. Pau Cubarsi's 7.19 rating is only enough for a 20th-place finish. In reality, the teenager was 12th.
The 2024 winner Rodri was the 'best of the rest' as the Spanish metronome only just missed out on the podium on Monday night. However, that was nine places above where he should've been.
Harry Kane
Harry Kane
Erling Haaland (12th), Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (14th) and Jude Bellingham (15th) were among other notable names to have made the top 10 and outperformed the stats.
Sadio Mane was one of the surprising players to make the 30 nominees in September. However, the ex-Liverpool and Bayern Munich star performed extremely well for Al-Nassr and Senegal, earning a 7.27 rating and 17th-place ranking on this list (12 higher than reality).
||
'True' Ballon d'Or Rankings Based on Stats (20-11)
Rank
20.
19.
18.
17.
16.
15.
14.
13.
12.
11.
10th-1st
REUTERS/Rodrigo Valle
This is where it gets really interesting. Mexico's Julian Quinones was a revelation for the 2026 World Cup host nation. Remarkably, he would make the top 10 if the award was based on statistics alone. He finished the season with the same rating as Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior.
One of the biggest movers compared to the real standings is Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes. His record-breaking 21 Premier League assists were enough for a better rating than PSG stars Ousmane Dembele and Vitinha.
Kylian Mbappe and Michael Olise both made history at the World Cup. Mbappe became the all-time leading scorer in the competition, with 22 goals to his name. Meanwhile, Olise broke Pele's record for the most assists at a single World Cup (seven).
However, the failure to guide Les Bleus to the biggest international prize potentially cost the duo, who missed out on the podium here.
Kane's goalfest of a season for Bayern Munich would see him take third place, missing out on the biggest individual award in football. Yamal, one of the other hot favourites heading into the ceremony, would also be made to wait.
A Bar Chart Depicting Players with Multiple Ballon d'Or Wins Including Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Michel Platini, and more
Instead, Lionel Messi finishes top of the statistics-based rankings, by quite some distance. Recording 75 goal contributions and starring for his country on the biggest stage, it would've marked Messi's ninth Ballon d'Or as he's the only player with a season rating over eight (8.60).
||
'True' Ballon d'Or Rankings Based on Stats (10-1)
Rank
10.
9.
8.
7.
6.
5.
4.
3.
2.
1.
Statistics in this article are courtesy of SofaScore. Correct as of 28-10-26.