Arsenal won the Premier League for the first time in 22 years and reached the Champions League final, yet not one Gunner made the top 10 of the 2026 Ballon d’Or ranking.
The list came out on Monday night at a ceremony dominated by Bukayo Saka’s Socrates Award for his charity work and Harry Kane’s triumph. For the Arsenal side that finished the season as English champions, it was a quiet night on the individual front.
It was also only the second time in the club’s history that Mikel Arteta’s side had reached a Champions League final. In a normal year, that kind of campaign usually puts at least one name near the top of the list.
The poor season of Martin Odegaard and Saka, the kind of attacking players who tend to be rated highly in individual awards, goes some way to explaining the absence. But the level shown by two others deserved better.
Arsenal Ballon d’Or snub: where did the players finish?
Declan Rice finished 15th and Gabriel Magalhaes 21st. Rice’s season was good enough, and Gabriel’s strong enough, that at least one of them belonged in the top 10.
The top 10 itself is a puzzle. Rodri and Lionel Messi only made it because of a single month, the one in which the World Cup was played.
How the World Cup distorted the Ballon d’Or list
A competition lasting a month and eight matches carried huge weight this year, and it left some odd inclusions further down the list.
Julian Quinones, 28th, scored four goals and added one assist for Mexico as the hosts reached the quarter-finals. He plays for Al-Qadsiah in Saudi Arabia, where he did not even win the league, and the football there is considered below Europe’s top five leagues.
Sadio Mane of Al-Nassr is 29th for the same reason. He won the Africa Cup of Nations and the Saudi league, but had an inconsistent World Cup with Senegal.
Ferran Torres is 16th, which is the biggest absurdity. His season split between substitute and starter spells at Barcelona, and he started only one match for Spain in the campaign. A goal in the World Cup final turned him into a hero. Federico Dimarco, the best player in the last Serie A, did not make the list of 30 at all.
Was Unai Simon really the best goalkeeper?
The world champion goalkeeper conceded only one goal in the campaign and went seven matches without conceding. Yet Unai Simon was barely tested, had no memorable big save in the triumph, and shone mainly in his distribution and in anticipating danger.
Ironically, his understudy for Spain had the better season. David Raya produced a season at the highest level for the English champions, with decisive interventions and standout performances, and played a decisive role in the title and in reaching the European final.
Author opinion: a title winner with no top 10 name
Gooners will feel this one. A title in N5 after 22 years and a European final should come with a name on the shortlist, and the ranking leaned on one month of football instead. The champions’ best individual seasons, Rice’s and Gabriel’s, were ranked 15th and 21st, while players from outside Europe’s top five leagues and a substitute turned World Cup hero sat above them.
