With the Ballon d'Or winner set to be announced next Monday, several bookmakers have made striking changes to their odds for the leading contenders just two days before the ceremony.
The race for the prestigious individual award appears to have narrowed to three players: Lamine Yamal, Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappé. Yamal scored sixteen goals and provided eleven assists in LaLiga last season as Barcelona retained the league title convincingly. The nineteen-year-old forward also won the Spanish Super Cup and helped Spain to the 2026 world title, an achievement that has often carried considerable weight in past votes.
Even so, Kane is by far the best placed to win the Ballon d'Or. The Bayern Munich striker scored 73 times in 65 official matches during an extraordinarily productive season. On Saturday, the Englishman is listed at average odds of 1.35, making him the clear favourite.
For Yamal, the outlook has worsened sharply in a matter of hours. Most major bookmakers have raised their odds on the FC Barcelona star, with the Barcelona prodigy's price jumping from 3.25 to 6.00.
Kane's recent victory in the vote for the so-called '100 MARCA' award could explain the shift. An international jury of journalists, former footballers and coaches decides the honour. In total, 226 voters chose fifteen players from a hundred nominees, awarding thirty points to their first choice, 25 to their second and 23 to their third.
With 3,962 points, Kane topped the vote, just 25 ahead of Yamal on 3,937. Mbappé completed the podium with 3,440 points, followed by Rodri, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Lionel Messi, Fabián Ruiz, Michael Olise, Ousmane Dembélé and Pau Cubarsí.
Should Yamal win the Ballon d'Or on Monday after all, the nineteen-year-old right winger will become its youngest-ever winner. Former Barcelona striker Ronaldo currently holds that record, having received the award in 1997 at the age of 21.