Emmanuel Adebayor has selected Kylian Mbappe as his preferred winner of the 2026 Ballon d’Or, while backing African football to produce another recipient of the prestigious individual award in the future.

The former Togo striker made his choice in an exclusive interview with Afrik-Foot, identifying the France and Real Madrid forward as the player he believes should take the prize.

Harry Kane, Lamine Yamal, Kylian Mbappe, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Michael Olise and Ousmane Dembele are among the leading contenders for an award that is expected to be closely contested. Yamal and Kane are viewed as the two leading favourites, but Adebayor believes individual performances should be the decisive factor.

“For me, it’s Mbappe,” said Adebayor, who also represented Arsenal, Manchester City and Real Madrid during his career.

The former Togo international highlighted Mbappe’s attacking output over the past season. In his view, a player’s statistics and ability to change the course of matches should carry the greatest weight when the winner is selected.

Those criteria put Mbappe ahead of the other contenders in Adebayor’s assessment, despite the strength of the field for the 2026 award.

African hopes remain alive

Adebayor also discussed the possibility of another African player winning the Ballon d’Or. George Weah remains the only representative of the continent to have claimed the award, having done so in 1995.

The two African nominees this year, Achraf Hakimi and Sadio Mane, are not considered among the leading favourites. However, that does not diminish Adebayor’s belief that another African winner will eventually emerge.

Several players have come close to ending the long wait. Mane finished second in the voting in 2022, behind Karim Benzema, while Mohamed Salah was among the strongest candidates during his best years at Liverpool.

Salah has finished in the top seven on five occasions, including a fourth-place finish in 2025. Hakimi, who had long been regarded as a potential podium contender, was sixth last year.

Adebayor believes those performances demonstrate that African players are capable of competing with the world’s leading stars. He expects the continent to produce another Ballon d’Or winner, although he did not suggest when that might happen.

For the 2026 edition, however, his preference is clear: Adebayor has backed Mbappe to claim the award.