Lamine Yamal and Harry Kane are the clear favourites with bookmakers to win the Ballon d’Or, which will be announced in London on 26 October. BBC Sport asked several of its football experts who they think should take home the award.
Yamal won La Liga with Barcelona and the World Cup with Spain. Kane scored 73 goals for German champions Bayern Munich and England. Eight-time winner Lionel Messi of Argentina and Inter Miami, and Real Madrid’s France forward Kylian Mbappe, are the other probable candidates. Paris St-Germain’s back-to-back European champions also have a strong case.
Lamine Yamal
European football expert Guillem Balague said it is impossible to imagine this Ballon d’Or going to anyone outside a PSG or Spanish player. He said the PSG players are so numerous that the vote will be split, and called Yamal the only Spaniard who deserves it. “He has given us individual performances, collective trophies, and has that aura. He’s going to win it,” Balague said.
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia
European football expert Julien Laurens believes Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, a two-time Champions League winner with PSG, was the best player in Europe last season. Laurens pointed to his penalty in the final, his goals in both semi-finals, and his strikes in the quarter-final and last 16. He still expects Yamal to win, because of his style of football and how entertaining he is, but said the award should go to Kvaratskhelia.
Former Liverpool and Blackburn full-back Stephen Warnock predicted Yamal will win for helping Spain lift the World Cup. Personally, however, Warnock would choose Kvaratskhelia, whom he called unbelievable. He also named Michael Olise as another contender, but doubted Kvaratskhelia will attract votes because Georgia did not qualify for the World Cup.
BBC Radio 5 Live guest and Athletic reporter Rory Smith expects the award to go to Yamal because it usually goes to the player who has won the biggest trophy, which is the World Cup. He argued Yamal was not necessarily Spain’s most important player. Smith would give the award to Kvaratskhelia, calling him the most exciting player in European club football for a while and a valuable part of the PSG team that retained the Champions League.
Harry Kane
Former England striker Alan Shearer said Kane should win, citing his sensational numbers over the last 12 to 18 months for Bayern and England. Former England midfielder Danny Murphy called Kane’s goalscoring relentless and brilliant, and described him as the best centre-forward in the world over the last 12 months.
Former Tottenham and Crystal Palace forward Andros Townsend made the strongest statistical case. Kane scored 73 goals in 65 games, 36 of them in the Bundesliga, and led Bayern Munich to the league and cup double. He also scored 14 Champions League goals and six at the World Cup, helping England reach the semi-finals.
Former England striker Ellen White said she would go with her heart and love to see Kane win. She acknowledged that Yamal won the World Cup and predicted he will win the Ballon d’Or one day. Norwegian football journalist Lars Sivertsen also backed Kane, calling him a real leader and role model at Bayern. He wondered, however, whether Kane’s low-key character hurts his chances in what he described as a popularity contest.