Several former players and football figures name their favourites for the 2026 Ballon d’Or ahead of the ceremony in London on Monday. Multiple outlets report that Harry Kane is repeatedly singled out—either as the likely winner or among the top contenders—while Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal is also frequently presented as the other leading candidate.
Different articles foreground different endorsements. Daily Post Nigeria features former Arsenal defender Martin Keown backing Kane on statistical grounds, while Steven Gerrard and Owen Hargreaves also pick Kane, describing his case as compelling relative to players such as Yamal and Kylian Mbappé. Another Daily Post Nigeria piece quotes Lothar Matthäus saying nobody else deserves to win, naming Kane alongside Michael Olise as his top picks.
Legit.ng and Yahoo Sports focus more on Robert Lewandowski’s view, with one report saying Lewandowski backs Yamal, while another frames it as Lewandowski revealing who he wants to win between Kane, Yamal and Mbappé. Alan Shearer is cited as naming Kane and Yamal as the leading candidates, including a comparison of Kane’s goal output with Yamal’s World Cup-winning season.
