Argentina great Lionel Messi finished among the top five names in the 2026 Ballon d’Or rankings. The ceremony that took place at the London Palladium on October 26, saw English footballer Harry Kane taking
the prestigious honour home. With this, he became the first player from England to win the award in 25 years after Stanley Matthews.
On the rankings chart, France footballer Kylian Mbappe finished second, while Spanish star Lamine Yamal grabbed the third spot. However, Lionel Messi, who recently bid adieu to his international career made it to the top five of the rankings by finishing below Rodri. Messi’s first top-five finish came in 2007, 19 years ago.
🚨🚨| OFFICIAL: Lionel Messi (39) is among the top 10 contenders for the 2026 Ballon d’Or! 🇦🇷💫 https://t.co/HbamoyGuiz
— CentreGoals. (@centregoals) October 26, 2026
Notably, the first time he reached the Top five was in 2007, when he was just 20 years old. Back then, he finished third with 255 points, behind Kaka, while Cristiano Ronaldo finished as the first runner up. However, 19 years later, the 2022 World Cup winning captain still remains one of the leading names in football.
Lionel Messi finishes ahead of several youngsters
He left behind many young players including Michael Olise, Jude Bellingham, Erling Haaland as well as the 2025 winner, Ousmane Dembele. This also marked Messi’s 17th appearance on the shortlist, and is only behind Cristiano Ronaldo, who has 18 appearances. Speaking of his performance, Messi led Intern Miami to their first MLS Cup in 2025 and received the league’s MVP Award that year.
In 2026, he recorded 25 goals and 15 assists, leading both league categories and became the first MLS player with at least 15 assists in three consecutive seasons. In September, he scored his 100th Inter Miami goal against Cruz Azul in the Campeones Cup.
Why was Cristiano Ronaldo not nominated for the 2026 Ballon d’Or?
While Messi is still making his mark despite being 39 years old, one name that missed out nominations was Portuguese great Cristiano Ronaldo. Ronaldo was nominated for this year because he moved away from European football. Ronaldo plays for Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League, which is generally considered less competitive than Europe’s top leagues. As a result, his performance in the Saudi league carries less weight with Ballon d’Or voters than other competitions in European football.
Ronaldo’s absence on the list also extends a lengthy run without nominations. Since joining Al-Nassr, he has missed out on the Ballon d’Or shortlist in the consecutive years. However, his omission became controversial because other Saudi Pro League players, including Sadio Mane and Al-Qadsiah’s Julian Quinones, received nominations.
