Why MESSI is not a Top 5 contestant for the 2026 Ballon d’Or:
It’s straightforward. He plays in the MLS and despite his remarkable stats (52 goal involvements in just 30 Major League Soccer appearances), topping both the goal (29) and assist (23) rankings in the competition and winning it, it remains the MLS. It is not one of the top leagues where performances will count for a lot in the Ballon d’Or contention. To put this in context, it is not because a Messi, for instance, plays in the South African league and wins it that suddenly winning the South African league puts a player in the Ballon d’Or discussion. There’s an existing order.
Messi is among the nominees largely, or even solely, due to his magnificent 2026 FIFA World Cup performance. He became the oldest player to score a World Cup hat-trick, became the player that has scored in the most consecutive World Cup matches, became the player with the most Player of the Match awards in World Cup history, emerged second-highest goalscorer in World Cup history overall, with 21 goals, behind Kylian Mbappé’s 22, and became the player with most career World Cup assists (12).
Had Messi won the 2026 World Cup with those ridiculous stats, he would have had one big shot at the 2026 Ballon d’Or. He would have won the World Cup Golden Ball and everything would have been different. He would have, perhaps, been the favourite for the Ballon d’Or.
The World Cup final changed his fortunes. He didn’t win it, he didn’t emerge the best player, and by extension, he didn’t emerge top scorer and also didn’t keep the record for the competition’s highest ever scorer.
Fair enough, he should feature within 6th to 10th place in the 2026 Ballon d’Or.
Dr Ade Divine