Ballon d’Or 2026: How a tie between players will be decided

The Ballon d’Or 2026 ceremony will take place at 19:00 on Monday at the London Palladium, with the outcome of the men’s award still appearing uncertain. If two players finish level on votes, the winner will be determined by their number of first-place selections.

Kylian Mbappe, Harry Kane and Lamine Yamal are among those considered contenders, while Lionel Messi is also in the running. The uncertainty echoes the 2019 contest, when Messi finished seven points ahead of Virgil van Dijk.

There was an even narrower margin in 1996, when Brazil forward Ronaldo missed out on the award by a single point to Matthias Sammer. The possibility of another tied result has raised the question of what would happen if two players finished with the same total.

France Football sets out the procedure on its website. It states: “In the event of a tie in the vote count, the winner will be decided according to the number of mentions in first place. If the tie persists, the winner will be decided according to the number of mentions in second place, then according to the mentions in third place, and so on.”

The 2026 Ballon d’Or winner will therefore be confirmed at the London Palladium on Monday, regardless of how close the final vote proves to be.