Football
Ballon d’Or 2026 odds and betting
Following Ousmane Dembele’s Ballon d’Or victory in 2025, betting is live for the 2026 award.
The world’s best are already staking their claims for the prestigious individual award, but who has the best chance?
Bet on Football with William Hill
Lamine Yamal – 5/2
The current favourite for the award is Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal, who finished second in last year’s rankings.
There’s no doubt the winger performed at a level high enough to win the award but didn’t pick up the trophies that did the eventual winner Dembele did.
Barcelona are favoured in the betting for both La Liga and the Champions League, and if they can deliver on those, it’s likely Yamal will play a leading role with his attacking output in the side. The youngster’s level is so impressive for his age, and the likelihood is that he will get even better.
We are looking at one of the world’s best for years to come, but it may be worth looking at some bigger prices at this stage.
Kylian Mbappe – 10/3
One player who has flown out of the blocks this season is Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappe.
The Frenchman hasn’t been out of the top 10 in the rankings since he burst onto the scene in 2017, but has only ever managed as high as third, where he finished in 2023.
Part of a new look Real Madrid side under Xabi Alonso, he looks to have taken it up another level having already netted 13 goals in just nine games this season.
When on form, there’s few players more dangerous than him in world football and if he can drive Real Madrid towards silverware this season, the 10/3 suddenly looks very appealing.
The rest
With Yamal and Mbappe both relatively short at the front of the market, there may be value further down the betting at bigger prices.
Last year’s winner Ousmane Dembele is next in the market at 12/1.
It was a big season for the Frenchman, who finally delivered on the promise he displayed as a youngster.
That said, winning it once is hard but winning it consecutive is even harder, and something we’ve seen few players so he can be passed over currently.
It may be worth keeping Harry Kane onside at 14/1.
The Bayern man hasn’t missed a beat after arriving in Germany and looks better than ever this season already. In just seven appearances this season, he has already notched 14 goals and three assists.
Keeping that level of form going automatically puts him right into contention for the award, and with the Bundesliga already looking a foregone conclusion for Bayern, he’ll likely have silverware for the season to boost his case for the award. 14/1 may not be available for long.
Similar thoughts apply for Erling Haaland at 16/1.
It was a disappointing season for Manchester City, who didn’t manage to win any silverware and were noticeably out of form in the league when only managing a third placed finish behind Liverpool and Arsenal.
However, Haaland is already purring this season and looks to have rediscovered the devastating goal record we got used to seeing after his arrival at the Etihad.
