The Ballon d'Or reveals a new surprise: where did Messi finish in Portugal's vote?

A vote that stirs controversy

Portuguese journalist Antonio Tadia raised eyebrows with his 2026 Ballon d'Or vote. He put Spain's Lamine Yamal top of his list, snubbed award winner Harry Kane from an advanced position, and favoured a host of other stars ahead of him. Argentina's Lionel Messi came in seventh.

Behind the Barcelona teenager sat France's Kylian Mbappé, then Norway's Erling Haaland. Georgia's Khvicha Kvaratskhelia took fourth and Spain's Pau Cubarsí fifth, with Kane down in sixth, one place ahead of Messi.

The surprises kept coming. Portugal's Nuno Mendes landed in eighth, Argentina's Lautaro Martínez ninth and Spain's Rodri tenth, a vote that laid bare the Portuguese journalist's preferences among the season's leading stars.

As for Portuguese presence in the final ranking, Vitinha finished fourteenth with 59 points, the best of his countrymen. João Neves came nineteenth with 15 points, Nuno Mendes twenty-third with 8 points, and Bruno Fernandes twenty-seventh with 5 points.