On the evening of October 24, the 2026 Ballon d’Or will be handed out to the best player across the 2025/26 season, as superstars from across the world descend upon the annual France Football gala.

For the first time in the award’s history, the ceremony will be held outside France, as the Ballon d’Or will be handed out in London to celebrate the 70th edition of the trophy, honoring the first winner Sir Stanley Matthews.

Two of the top favorites to win the trophy are English striker Harry Kane and Spain wonderkid Lamine Yamal, as they captivated fans for both club and country all year long.

As Kane bagged an incredible tally of goals for Bayern Munich and England, Lamine racked up the playmaking ability for Barcelona and Spain, as the two stars put their best foot forward for football’s most prestigious individual award.

Harry Kane vs. Lamine Yamal goals

This past season, Harry Kane scored over twice as many goals as Lamine Yamal.

Of course, that can be explained as Kane is a pure No. 9 while Lamine is a winger who does a lot more than just score goals, and also plays in the less defensively adept Bundesliga. But from a pure numerical standpoint, Kane was the far better player over the course of the season.

Goals by competition

Harry Kane vs. Lamine Yamal assists

The numbers are flipped when looking at assists, as Lamine Yamal had far more creative impact for his teammates at Barcelona than Harry Kane did at Bayern Munich.

Again, this is easily explained by the different positions they play, as Kane at the striker role will be much more focused on scoring goals. However, he still managed to find his teammates a fairly decent amount of the time, although still not even half as much as Lamine, who is tasked with tons of ball progression and creativity in the final third.

Assists by competition

Harry Kane vs. Lamine Yamal trophies won

Both players won their respective league titles this past season, their only major trophies of the 2025/26 club campaign.

Harry Kane and Bayern Munich managed to cruise to the Bundesliga championship, topping the table by 16 points. They lost just one game all league season, drawing five and winning 28 times.

Meanwhile, in Spain, Lamine Yamal and Barcelona also won their domestic title in dominant fashion, as they finished a strong eight points clear at the top of the La Liga standings. They suffered just seven adverse results across the year, with one draw and six defeats.

The big difference here is that Lamine won the 2026 FIFA World Cup title with Spain. He was injured for the first half of the tournament, playing sparingly during the group stage. While he managed to return to a starting role in the knockout stage, he did not appear his usual self, even as Spain managed to make a successful run to the title.