Ballon d’Or: Nigeria’s voter picked Rodri over Kane

Rodri plays during the match between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid CF, corresponding to week 10 of LaLiga EA Sports 2026-27, played at the Spotify Camp Nou in Barcelona, Spain, on October 25, 2026. (Photo by Urbanandsport / NurPhoto / NurPhoto via AFP)

Nigeria’s representative in the 2026 men’s Ballon d’Or voting ranked Spanish midfielder Rodri as the best player in the world, despite the Manchester City star finishing fourth in the overall standings.

The voting breakdown released by France Football on Friday showed that Nigeria was among 10 countries whose journalists placed Rodri first in their ballots.

The other countries were the United States, Guatemala, South Korea, the Czech Republic, Serbia, Thailand, Vietnam, Croatia and Iceland.

Rodri finished fourth overall with 726 points, behind Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane, who won the award with 1,055 points, Real Madrid forward Kylian Mbappé, who had 1,027 points, and Barcelona youngster Lamine Yamal, who scored 881 points.

Nigeria’s voter also ranked Paris Saint-Germain forward Ousmane Dembélé second in the ballot.

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Dembélé, who won the 2025 men’s Ballon d’Or, finished seventh in the 2026 edition and received no first-place votes from any of the 100 journalists who participated in the voting.

He was placed second by voters from seven countries: Burkina Faso, China, France, Georgia, Haiti, North Macedonia and Nigeria.

The Ballon d’Or voting involved journalists from the 100 highest-ranked countries in the FIFA rankings, with each voter selecting 10 players from the shortlist.

The players are awarded points according to their positions on each ballot, with 15 points for first place, 12 for second, 10 for third and progressively fewer points down to one point for 10th place.

Kane won the award by 28 points ahead of Mbappé, in the fourth-closest finish in the history of the men’s Ballon d’Or.