Cyril Hanouna has raised fresh speculation about the Mbappé Ballon d’Or race after suggesting that the Real Madrid star may miss the top three as the award is announced later this month.
For his part, Hanouna spoke about his forecast for Mbappé to be fifth in the 2026 Ballon d’Or on Tout beau, tout neuf, explaining that he believes the 23-year-old striker is a “fifth starter”. He rated Lamine Yamal as the top, Harry Kane, Rodri and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia were the others in the top four.
The comments have been noticed as the vote for the award closed on 28th September, and the result is already known but hasn’t been revealed until the ceremony will take place at the Palladium theatre in London on 26th October.
But there is no current proof that Hanouna has the official Ballon d’Or results. He has been quoted as a ranking or prediction, but his remarks seemed to have opened the possibility of speculation that he might know more than he admits.
Mbappé started off the voting period with a strong case to himself. The France international was the leading scorer for the French team in La Liga and the Champions League last year and the top scorer for his team during the 2026 World Cup. He has stated that it might be the year that he finally gets the award.
But competition is strong during this particular period. Stars like Harry Kane, Lamine Yamal, Rodri and Kvaratskhelia are still in contention, along with other players who had a great season with their clubs.
In recent days, other supposed leaks of the Ballon D’or have been circulating online with a variety of suggestions, such as one which would have Mbappé with 842 points. That was never authenticated and conflicting reports have named other players as the supposed winner.
Thus, Hanouna’s ranking should be considered provisional at this time. The clear-cut winner will be revealed on October 26 when the official 2026 Ballon d’Or rankings are announced.
