Sport: 2026 Ballon d'Or will prioritize individual performance over titles

According to "Sport", the 2026 Ballon d'Or award will prioritize individual performance over championship honors.

On August 9, three weeks after the World Cup final, the official Ballon d'Or website published an article clearly stating what journalists should focus on when voting. The official statement indicated that individual performance ranks above the championships won by a player.

This is not a new rule specifically created for this year's selection. On March 11, 2022, France Football amended the Ballon d'Or rules. Now, after the World Cup and before the 2026 Ballon d'Or winner is decided, the official reiteration provides a reference for understanding the voting criteria.

Before 2021, the primary criterion considered both individual and collective performance, including championships won, followed by player level, and finally career trajectory.

Starting in 2022, the order of selection criteria changed to: "individual performance and decisive and impressive characteristics," collective performance and championships, and player level and fair play. The player's career trajectory was also completely removed from the evaluation scope. France Football explicitly stated at the time that the Ballon d'Or is first and foremost an individual award.

The rules also clearly state that these criteria must be applied "in order of importance." Journalists must first evaluate each candidate's individual performance and ability to decide games, and only then consider the championships won by the team. Voting for the 2026 Ballon d'Or will begin after the nominations are announced, with the official 30-person shortlists for men's and women's football to be released on September 8, 2026. The awards ceremony is scheduled for October 26 in London.

The evaluation period has also changed. The selection is no longer based on a calendar year but on a full season from August to July of the following year, covering both club and national team matches. Therefore, the 2026 World Cup will be fully included in this year's Ballon d'Or selection.

The rules do not specify a fixed score for a goal in the final, nor do they state that a Champions League semi-final is inherently more important than a league match in terms of calculation. Interpreting the rules this way is incorrect.

However, France Football's proposed "decisive and impressive characteristics" will indeed lead to greater attention being paid to players who step up when the game intensity is highest.

The 2025/26 season presents several different cases.

Rodri not only won the World Cup with Spain but was also officially named the World Cup's best player by FIFA. He played in all eight of Spain's matches, completed 101 out of 105 passes in the final against Argentina, won 80% of his duels, and created two chances. This is a typical case of officially recognized individual performance.

Mbappé, on the other hand, did not win the World Cup or the Champions League, but he delivered outstanding individual statistics in both competitions. He won the World Cup Golden Boot with 10 goals in eight matches and was the Champions League top scorer with 15 goals in 11 matches. If individual performance is indeed more important than collective honors, then these statistics would carry significant weight.

There are other cases in the Champions League. Kvaratskhelia, after winning the title with Paris Saint-Germain, was named the best player of the Champions League by UEFA. He contributed 10 goals and six assists in 16 matches and played a crucial role in the knockout stages.

His teammate Vitinha offered another perspective. UEFA named him the Man of the Match in the Champions League final against Arsenal because he controlled the midfield and orchestrated Paris Saint-Germain's play. Not scoring a goal can still fit France Football's definition of "decisive and impressive."

Dembélé is also within the scope of candidate discussion. He scored Paris Saint-Germain's equalizer in that final and was among the top scorers in the World Cup with six goals and two assists. According to the first criterion in the rules, these performances might receive extra attention. Another candidate is Fabián Ruiz, who won both the Champions League and the World Cup with Paris Saint-Germain.

Yamal's performance also needs to be analyzed from the same perspective. The Barcelona player was officially named the best player of the 2025/26 La Liga season and helped Barcelona win the title with 16 goals and 12 assists. He received both significant individual honors and won a collective championship.

Judges will also need to consider Yamal's performance throughout the season, including his displays in the Champions League and the World Cup. The rules require judges not only to look at how many trophies a candidate has won but first to determine who performed better and who was more decisive on an individual level.

Ferran Torres's situation can also help illustrate the concept of "decisiveness." Ferran scored the only goal of the match in the 106th minute of the World Cup final, helping Spain win their second World Cup title in history. FIFA also noted that he became only the second substitute in World Cup final history to score a winning goal, the first being Mario Götze in 2014.

This, of course, will not make Ferran a Ballon d'Or favorite based on a single goal, as the selection considers the entire season. But this case illustrates that crucial moments that change the outcome of a championship will also influence the assessment of a player's decisiveness.

After the Ballon d'Or officials reiterated the rules on August 9, the biggest impact might be that winning the Champions League or World Cup will not automatically give a player an advantage. The first question judges need to answer is: who was the best performer, and who played the most crucial role when their team needed it most?

In a World Cup and Champions League where multiple crucial individual performances occur, the judges' answer may ultimately determine the recipient of the Ballon d'Or awarded in London on October 26.

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