EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsIn the tightest contest for the men's Ballon d'Or that we've seen in years, Barcelona's Lamine Yamal and Real Madrid's Kylian Mbapp are among the clutch of players who have been campaigning for soccer's top individual prize.LaLiga's top two players have been working hard to rally the votes required to win their first Ballon d'Or for the 2025-26 season, which ended with France striker Mbapp becoming the FIFA World Cup's all-time top scorer and Yamal lifting the trophy with Spain.That sums up the difference between their claims: Individual statistics favor Madrid's No. 10, while the contributions of Bara's teenage winger to his team tip the scales for him.We have reviewed the statistics to evaluate the merits of LaLiga's two superstars in one of the most wide-open Ballon d'Or races in 20 years.- Watch El Clsico LIVE, 10/26, 3 p.m. ET on ABC and ESPN+ (U.S.)- Who most deserves the Ballon d'Or? Whittling down the 30-man shortlist- Ballon d'Or 2026: Full men's, women's shortlists, host city change, moreWhich matches count toward the 2026 Ballon d'Or?The 2026 Ballon d'Or covers the period between Aug. 3, 2025, and July 19, 2026 -- the date of the World Cup final. Everything that has already happened this season will count toward the Ballon d'Or to be awarded in 2027.During the period under review, Yamal and Mbapp played almost the same number of matches (57 vs. 60), while holding key roles for their clubs and national teams.Mbapp delivers goals; Yamal delivers titlesThe stats confirm Mbapp's goal-scoring prowess, as he averaged nearly one goal per game (58 in 60) and recorded 13 assists in 2025-26. Working against him is the fact that he failed to help either Real Madrid or France achieve their goals, both teams having finished the campaign without winning a major title for a second successive season.By contrast, Yamal -- with 25 goals and 20 assists in 57 games -- was able to translate his individual performance into team success. At 19, he won his third LaLiga title (while also being named the tournament's best player), lifted the Spanish Supercopa once again, and won his first World Cup.The statistics show that both players bring out the best in those around them: It's noteworthy that Mbapp finished with more key passes (120 vs. 111) and created more scoring chances (133 vs. 131) than Yamal, who missed the final month of the club season with a hamstring injury.Yamal's ability to create imbalance -- a key factor in his play on the wing for Barcelona and Spain -- caused his number of dribbles to skyrocket: With 559, he was well ahead of Mbapp (327) and had more than anyone else in Europe.But risk also comes into play here, as reflected in each player's number of turnovers: While Yamal lost the ball 1,181 times, Mbapp was dispossessed only 699 times.Yamal vs. Mbapp in key matchesTo determine who performed better in key matches, we divided the season into two groups.- Group A is comprised of World Cup matches, the UEFA Champions League knockout phase and LaLiga matches against last season's five strongest teams (Barcelona, Real Madrid, Atltico Madrid, Villarreal and Real Betis).- Group B is made up of all other matches from the 2025-26 season.Mbapp's outstanding performances at the World Cup had a major impact: 17 goals and six assists in 18 Group A matches, compared with Yamal's nine goals and one assist in the same number of games.However, once again, the results of Yamal's teams bolster his claim: He was on the winning side in 14 of those 18 matches and lost only two. Mbapp's teams won 12 and lost five.In the remaining matches, the scoring gap widens. Mbapp scored 41 goals in the Group B games compared with 16 from Yamal, whose 19 assists were almost three times as many as those of Mbapp (seven). Here, the win totals are identical, with each player winning 31 games.When and where will the Ballon d'Or winner be announced?We will have to wait until the ceremony in London on Oct. 26, held the day after Barcelona host Real Madrid in the first Clsico of the season, to find out which player has won the vote among the panel of 100 journalists from around the world.The eighth winner of the women's Ballon d'Or will also be announced at the event at the London Palladium theater, along with prizes for the best young player, goalkeeper, coach and club in both the men's and women's games.This article was originally published in Spanish and has been translated.
