The ceremony is scheduled for the 26th October 2026 and voting will commence soon as one journalist from each of the top 100 countries in FIFA’s men’s world ranking gets to vote.
Each year the trophy weighs heavily on what a player has won, with Dembele winning last year’s competition thanks to him lifting the Ligue 1 title, Champions League and UEFA Super Cup.
When asked for his Ballon d’Or picks this year, Dembele revealed that he would pick three of the favourites including his teammate Kvaratskhelia and current favourites Harry Kane.
"Kvara (Khvicha Kvaratskhelia), and Harry Kane who had a very, very good season, and I think Kylian Mbappe."
Mbappe believes this would be a “good year” for him to win the Ballon d'Or whilst Kane said that he is "extremely proud" of his stunning goalscoring campaign and the season he had was the “best season by far and we'll have to wait and see.”
Kane is leading the race to win the award after scoring 73 goals and winning the Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal. The England captain also bagged 6 goals at the World Cup and is ranked first amongst most Ballon d’Or polls.
One player Dembele didn’t name is Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal who grabbed 26 goals last season and won the World Cup and La Liga title. He is considered to be the favourites alongside Kane and many will wonder why he missed out in Dembele’s picks.