The Ballon d’Or will change its face. For the 2026 edition, a major change is emerging in the criteria for designating the winner. Players are starting to understand the new rules of the game, and some have already made it public. Harry Kane, prolific goalscorer for Bayern Munich and captain of England, has just put it with brutal frankness: “I could score 100 goals in a season and not win the Ballon d’Or without the Champions League or the World Cup. » A statement that resonates like a confession. Individual excellence is no longer enough. Something has changed in the world football ecosystem.
The major trophies will become essential to decide between the favorites. It is not officially recorded, but the trend is obvious. Now, a player can dominate statistically, rack up goals and assists, but if he doesn’t win the Champions League or the World Cup, his chances collapse. The Ballon d’Or has become inseparable from collective titles. Harry Kane understands this. Erling Haaland too. The Norwegian is one of the most efficient scorers of his generation, but his absence from a European or world title still keeps him away from the supreme reward. Individual performances no longer carry as much weight in the face of collective stories.
Messi and Ronaldo, the exception that proves the rule
This development contrasts with the Messi-Ronaldo era. For more than a decade, the two sacred monsters monopolized the trophy, sometimes without winning a major title. Their volume of goals was such that it created a cultural exception. But those days are over. Since their withdrawal from the summit, the Ballon d’Or has returned to its initial logic: rewarding the best player of the victorious team. When Messi won his eighth award in 2023 after the Argentine World Cup, he thanked his teammates.
“Without them, these trophies don’t happen. » A clear message.
The problem is the injustice inherent in this system. Football remains a team sport. A striker can score 50 goals, but if his defense collapses in the quarter-final of the Champions League or a red card destabilizes his team in the World Cup, the Ballon d’Or is irretrievably gone. Players have no control over the talent pool of their national team, nor over the performance of their teammates on the nights of big matches. Kane experiences it every year. Haaland too. Exceptional performances which never find their consecration.
The Ballon d’Or is no longer just a sporting award. It has become a marketing tool for world football, a cultural narrative that must build on the highlights of the season. Trophies amplify stories, and stories drive rewards. From now on, the winner will be the exceptional player from the exceptional team. Occupying both positions simultaneously becomes the sine qua non condition. For 2026, the message is clear: without a major title, no Ballon d’Or. Even with 100 goals.
