Messi new Ballon d’Or favourite

Lionel Messi is the new outright favourite with William Hill to win this year’s Ballon d’Or.

With eight Ballon d’Or awards already to his name, the Argentine forward is chasing an unprecedented ninth, which would put him four clear of his nearest rival Cristiano Ronaldo.

After his move to Inter Miami, many questioned whether Messi was still up to competing at the top level, but he has silenced all those critics at the 2026 World Cup by scoring eight goals in seven matches and providing four assists, including two in Argentina’s semi-final victory of England.

The Argentine forward was a 5/1 shot to win the award yesterday but is now 6/4 after inspiring Argentina to a late comeback against England in last night’s World Cup semi-final.

That price change has seen Messi leapfrog England captain Harry Kane in the betting, who has drifted slightly from 2/1 to 9/4.

Elsewhere, Messi is now odds-on to win the World Cup Top Goalscorer award (4/7) and the big 1/8 favourite to claim the tournament’s Golden Ball. Those hypothetical achievements would see him become the first player in history to win three Golden Ball awards, only strengthening his claim as the greatest footballer of all time.

Ballon d’Or

• Lionel Messi 6/4
• Harry Kane 9/4
• Kylian Mbappe 4/1
• Lamine Yamal 4/1
• Jude Bellingham 8/1

World Cup 2026 – Golden Ball

• Lionel Messi 1/8
• Rodri 5/1
• Lamine Yamal 20/1
• Mikel Oyarzabal 22/1
• Jude Bellingham 25/1
• BAR 33/1

World Cup 2026 – Top Goalscorer

• Lionel Messi 4/7
• Kylian Mbappe 6/4
• Harry Kane 25/1
• BAR 50/2

Spokesperson for William Hill, Lee Phelps, said: “A magical 24 hours for the legendary Lionel Messi has seen the Argentina forward overtake Harry Kane at the top of our Ballon d’Or market.

“Messi’s influence on Argentina’s team at 39 years of age was questioned before the World Cup, but he now leads the running for both the Golden Ball (1/8) and Top Goalscorer (4/7) awards in what is turning out to be one of his finest tournament’s yet.”

*All odds subject to change – prices accurate at the time of writing*