Aurelien Tchouameni believes the 2026 Ballon d’Or should be won by a French player, with Kylian Mbappe, Michael Olise and Ousmane Dembele among his preferred candidates.
The prestigious award will be presented on 26 October, with Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane and Barcelona forward Lamine Yamal also regarded as leading contenders.
Mbappe is in contention for his first Ballon d’Or despite ending the 2025-26 campaign without a trophy at Real Madrid. He scored 43 goals in 47 appearances in all competitions for Los Blancos before carrying that form into a record-breaking World Cup.
The France captain became the tournament’s all-time leading scorer with 22 goals. His 14 goal involvements – 10 goals and four assists – were also the most recorded by a player at a single World Cup since 1966, although France finished fourth.
Olise helped Bayern Munich win the Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal after contributing 34 goals and assists in the league, with 15 goals and 19 assists. That was a record for a winger since Opta began collecting data in the German top flight in 2004-05.
He also made history at the World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico by becoming the first player on record since 1966 to provide seven assists at one edition of the tournament.
Dembele, the current Ballon d’Or holder, saw his season interrupted by injuries but still produced 34 goal involvements – 22 goals and 12 assists – as Paris Saint-Germain retained the Champions League and won Ligue 1.
Lionel Messi remains the last player to win the award in successive years, doing so in 2019 and 2021. Tchouameni, speaking to France24, believes the prize should return to France.
“The Ballon d’Or must go to a French player, obviously,” he said. “Kylian had an exceptional season, Ousmane too, by winning the Champions League with PSG, and, of course, Michael Olise.”
France have five players on the shortlist, with Bayern Munich defender Dayot Upamecano and Arsenal centre-back William Saliba joining Mbappe, Olise and Dembele.
Spain are the best-represented nation after winning the World Cup, with Yamal, Pau Cubarsi, Marc Cucurella, Rodri, Fabian Ruiz and Ferran Torres included among the 30 nominees. Paris Saint-Germain have 10 players nominated, while Fabian is the only player to have won both the Champions League and World Cup.
Kane is aiming to become the first Englishman to win the award since Michael Owen in 2001 after scoring 65 goals for Vincent Kompany’s Bayern Munich. He added six more for England as they finished third at the World Cup, the final tournament included in the 2026 eligibility period.
No other player in Europe’s top five leagues scored more than 50 goals in all competitions last season, although Mbappe reached that mark for Real Madrid.
Yamal won LaLiga with Barcelona, scoring 16 league goals, joint-fourth in the division. His 225 completed dribbles were the most by any player in Europe’s top five leagues.
Aged 19 years and six days, Yamal also became the third-youngest player to appear in a World Cup final, after Pele in 1958 (17y 249d) and Giuseppe Bergomi in 1982 (18y 201d). Spain beat Argentina 1-0 at MetLife Stadium.
