Franck Ribery

We analyse the Colombian winger’s impressive campaign at Bayern Munich and the footballing reasons why he is among the nominees for the 2026 Ballon d'Or.

France went into the 2026 World Cup as one of the hot favourites to win the title, but were eventually knocked out by Spain in the semi-finals. Packed with stars and Ballon d'Or winner and nominees, boasting a squad considered one of the strongest in the world, Didier Deschamps’ side relived a familiar story: great French generations that fell by the wayside before achieving glory.