Either Lamine Yamal or Harry Kane are expected to be crowned the winner of the 2026 Ballon d'Or in London, England on October 26.

There are other names in the running, including Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe, but the expectation is that it will be Yamal or Kane to receive the award at the end of the month.

Ousmane Dembele is the holder of the Ballon d'Or, with the Frenchman being recognised for his recent contribution to Paris Saint-Germain.

However, Dembele is an outsider for the main prize in 2026.

The period between August 3, 2025 and July 19, 2026 is considered when picking a winner, with the final decision based on the results of the season.

Kane is aiming to become the first Englishman to secure the award since Michael Owen in 2001; he was Europe's top goalscorer last season, scoring 61 goals in 51 matches, while the striker netted six times as England finished third at the 2026 World Cup.

Yamal had an outstanding 2025-26 campaign at Barcelona, playing a vital role in their La Liga success, before helping Spain to win the 2026 World Cup.

Here, Sports Mole provides a list of every winner from the 2025 Ballon d'Or ceremony, as well as every men's champion since the award's inception all the way back in 1956. 

Ballon d'Or 2025 Winners' list

Ballon d'Or

Ousmane Dembele (PSG/France)

Ballon d'Or Feminin

Aitana Bonmati (Barcelona/Spain)

Men's Kopa Trophy

Lamine Yamal (Barcelona/Spain)

Women's Kopa Trophy 

Vicky Lopez (Barcelona/Spain)

Women's Johan Cruyff Trophy

Sarina Wiegman (England Women/Netherlands)

Men's Johan Cruyff Trophy 

Luis Enrique (PSG/Spain)

Men's Yashin Trophy

Gianluigi Donnarumma (PSG and Manchester City\Italy)

Women's Yashin Trophy

Hannah Hampton (Chelsea/England)

Men's Club of the Year

PSG

Women's Club of the Year

Arsenal

Men's Gerd Muller Trophy

Viktor Gyokeres (Sporting Lisbon and Arsenal/Sweden)

Women's Gerd Muller Trophy

Ewa Pajor (Barcelona/Poland)

Socrates Award

Xana Foundation

All previous Ballon d'Or winners year-by-year

1956: Stanley Matthews

1957: Alfredo Di Stefano

1958: Raymond Kopa

1959: Alfredo Di Stefano

1960: Luis Suarez

1961: Omar Sivori

1962: Josef Masopust

1963 Lev Yashin

1964: Denis Law

1965: Eusebio

1966: Bobby Charlton

1967: Florian Albert

1968: George Best

1969: Gianni Rivera

1970: Gerd Muller

1971: Johan Cruyff

1972: Franz Beckenbauer

1973: Johan Cruyff

1974: Johan Cruyff

1975: Oleh Blokhin

1976: Franz Beckenbauer

1977: Allan Simonsen

1978: Kevin Keegan

1979: Kevin Keegan

1980:Karl-Heinz Rummenigge

1981: Karl-Heinz Rummenigge

1982: Paolo Rossi

1983: Michel Platini

1984: Michel Platini

1985: Michel Platini

1986: Igor Belanov

1987: Ruud Gullit

1988: Marco van Basten

1989: Marco van Basten

1990: Lothar Matthaus

1991: Jean-Pierre Papin

1992: Marco van Basten

1993: Roberto Baggio

1994: Hristo Stoichkov

1995: George Weah

1996: Matthias Sammer

1997: Ronaldo

1998: Zinedine Zidane

1999: Rivaldo

2000: Luis Figo

2001: Michael Owen

2002: Ronaldo

2003: Pavel Nedved

2004: Andriy Shevchenko

2005: Ronaldinho

2006: Fabio Cannavaro

2007: Kaka

2008: Cristiano Ronaldo

2009: Lionel Messi

2010: Lionel Messi

2011: Lionel Messi

2012: Lionel Messi

2013: Cristiano Ronaldo

2014: Cristiano Ronaldo

2015: Lionel Messi

2016: Cristiano Ronaldo

2017: Cristiano Ronaldo

2018: Luka Modric

2019: Lionel Messi

2020: Cancelled

2021: Lionel Messi

2022: Karim Benzema

2023: Lionel Messi

2025: Ousmane Dembele