The 2026 Ballon d'Or ceremony saw Harry Kane crowned the big winner following a close contest with Kylian Mbappé.

However, the official results published by France Football revealed a striking statistic.

At the age of 39, Lionel Messi finished in 5th place in the overall voting following a season of immense impact at both club and international level.

The Argentine star scored 612 points in the verdict of the international jury, comprising specialist journalists from the 100 highest-ranked countries in the FIFA rankings.

Six of those 100 jurors chose Messi as the world’s best footballer and placed him at the top of their ballots.

The jurors who voted for Messi in first place

  • Argentina: Ezequiel Fernández Moores (La Nación)

  • Belarus: Sergueï Nikolaïev (Pressball)

  • Brazil: Cléber Machado (Record TV)

  • China: Luo Ming (Titan Sports)

  • United Arab Emirates: Osama Mohamad Alamri (Abu Dhabi Sports TV)

  • Panama: Humberto Cornejo (La Prensa)

Among the votes, Brazil’s support stands out strongly – a historic vote from the Albiceleste’s traditional sporting rival.

A season to remember

The support from these six voters was based on a statistical performance that defied all expectations of sporting longevity during the 2025–26 season:

  • 49 official matches

  • 45 goals

  • 30 assists

  • 1 team title: MLS Cup with Inter Miami

  • 4 yellow cards

  • 0 red cards

At club level, Messi transformed the landscape of American football by leading Inter Miami to their first-ever MLS Cup victory.

At international level, he played a starring role at the 2026 World Cup: he led Argentina to the final of the tournament with 8 goals and 4 assists.

Throughout the season, the Rosario-born player racked up a total of 75 direct goal contributions. An incredible figure for a 39-year-old footballer.

2026 Men’s Ballon d'Or Standings

  1. Harry Kane (England, Bayern Munich): 1,055 points

  2. Kylian Mbappé (France, Real Madrid): 1,027 points

  3. Lamine Yamal (Spain, FC Barcelona): 881 points

  4. Rodri (Spain, Manchester City / FC Barcelona): 726 points

  5. Lionel Messi (Argentina, Inter Miami): 612 points

  6. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (Georgia, Paris Saint-Germain): 541 points

  7. Ousmane Dembélé (France, Paris Saint-Germain): 418 points

  8. Erling Haaland (Norway, Manchester City): 378 points

  9. Michael Olise (France, Bayern Munich): 296 points

  10. Fabián Ruiz (Spain, Paris Saint-Germain): 201 points

With 612 points accumulated and fifth place secured, Messi confirmed in 2026 that his competitive form amongst the elite continues to defy the passage of time.