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The Ballon d'Or has wrapped up for another year, with Harry Kane emerging as the ultimate victor when the dust settled.
The English striker was a worthy recipient following a remarkable season with both Bayern Munich and England, and while few can dispute that honor, the ceremony still produced a number of results that left supporters bewildered.
From unexpected placements in the Ballon d'Or standings to contentious award recipients, here are five major surprises from the 2026 Ballon d'Or ceremony.
Bruno Fernandes—27th in Ballon d'Or Voting
Nobody is suggesting Bruno Fernandes deserved to win the whole award, but seeing him ranked as low as 27th—just one spot ahead of Al Qadsiah's Julián Quiñones—is truly staggering.
The Manchester United skipper may have been penalized for his late-season dip in form, which seems unjust given the judging period was meant to conclude on July 19. Throughout the 2025–26 campaign, he shattered the Premier League record for most assists in a single season and claimed the division's Player of the Year honor, yet still finished below five other Premier League players in the Ballon d'Or rankings.
The competition is undeniably tough, but most would have agreed that a top-15 finish for Fernandes would have been perfectly reasonable.
Fabián Ruiz—10th in Ballon d'Or Voting
What works in Fabián Ruiz's favor is that he won absolutely everything. He was a key figure in the Paris Saint-Germain squad that defended the Champions League title and claimed Ligue 1, and he capped a glittering summer by lifting the World Cup with Spain. That trophy collection is hard to overlook.
Yet, when you examine the details more closely, Fabián could consider himself quite lucky to have placed as high as 10th.
During the 2025–26 Ligue 1 season, Fabián featured in just 20 matches, with only 13 starts. He then traveled to the World Cup and started four of Spain's eight fixtures. In total, he finished the season with three goals and six assists across 2,634 minutes for club and country. By contrast, Kane clocked 5,223 minutes throughout 2025–26.
His medal collection speaks for itself, but did he genuinely have a stronger individual campaign than Jude Bellingham or Pau Cubarsí, who finished behind him?
Michael Olise—9th in Ballon d'Or Voting
Finishing one spot above Fabián in the standings was Michael Olise, a player who arguably deserved a legitimate shot at the top prize.
Across 52 appearances for Bayern Munich last season, the French winger contributed 22 goals and 31 assists, before adding seven more assists at the World Cup—a tournament record. Those are absolutely extraordinary figures that perhaps only suffered in comparison to the even-more-extraordinary numbers posted by eventual champion Kane.
Olise's misfortune is that when people think of Bayern Munich, Kane comes to mind first. When France is mentioned, it's Kylian Mbappé who steals the spotlight. Even so, his season was the kind that warranted a push for the top five.
Unai Simón—Yashin Trophy Winner
Unai Simón conceded just one goal on Spain's path to World Cup glory, and that achievement alone was enough to earn him the title of the world's best goalkeeper for the entire season.
If we assess the full season honestly, Simón will acknowledge he was fortunate. He let in 54 goals across 37 La Liga matches for an Athletic Club side that finished 12th with a negative goal difference. His save percentage of 64.9% was surpassed by at least 16 other goalkeepers in Spain's top division alone.
At the World Cup, Spain conceded just 10 shots on target throughout the entire tournament, meaning Simón had limited opportunities to make a meaningful impact all summer.
The fact that he started for Spain ahead of Arsenal's David Raya—who finished second—and seventh-placed Joan García of Barcelona, ultimately secured him this accolade.
And if you still doubt the World Cup's outsized influence, García was La Liga's finest goalkeeper last season yet finished one place behind Cabo Verde's Vozinha—a player 99% of voters had never heard of before his stunning performance against, ironically, Simón's Spain.
Lamine Yamal—Kopa Trophy Winner
Objectively speaking, this was the correct decision. Given that Lamine Yamal placed third in the Ballon d'Or vote, he was always going to claim the Kopa Trophy. That said ... it's getting a little predictable, isn't it?
No disrespect to Yamal's talent, but having already claimed the award in each of the past two years and having clearly evolved from exciting young prospect into global superstar, perhaps it's time he was excluded from eligibility. That's precisely how the Golden Boy award operates—its natural counterpart to the Kopa Trophy—once you've taken it home, you're no longer eligible. In 2026, nobody needs to be reminded that Yamal is an elite young talent. It's old news.
Yamal himself seemed to agree. "This one should have gone to Pau Cubarsí," he admitted as he accepted the award, clearly eager to turn the page on this phase of his career.
Either way, see you for Yamal's 2027 acceptance speech ... and he's still eligible in 2028 as well.