SuperLiga players back Lamine Yamal for 2026 Ballon d'Or in Fanatik survey

Fanatik conducted a survey among captains or representative players from all 16 SuperLiga clubs to determine their predictions for the 2026 Ballon d'Or and the All-Time Ballon d'Or. The publication collected votes from key figures across the Romanian top flight to gauge opinion on current and historical excellence in football.

Lamine Yamal emerged as the favorite for the 2026 award, receiving seven votes from the participating players. This total placed him ahead of Kylian Mbappé, who secured six votes. Lionel Messi received two votes for the upcoming award, while Rodri received one vote.

Seven specific players aligned in their support for Yamal for the 2026 prize and Lionel Messi for the all-time honor. This group included Dinamo captain Cătălin Cîrjan, Rapid player Alex Dobre, Universitatea Craiova’s Ștefan Baiaram, Farul Constanța captain Denis Alibec, UTA’s Jayson Papeau, CFR Cluj captain Mario Camora, and FC Botoșani’s Sebastian Mailat.

Kylian Mbappé attracted significant support for the 2026 award as well. FCSB captain Karlo Muhar, Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe captain Nicolae Păun, Remus Guțea, and Eduard Papp all cast their votes for the French forward. Corvinul Hunedoara’s Alexandru Neacșa also selected Mbappé for the 2026 title.

Lionel Messi was the clear choice for the All-Time Ballon d'Or, gathering 14 out of the 16 available votes. Cristiano Ronaldo received the remaining two votes in this category. The disparity highlighted a strong consensus among the surveyed players regarding Messi’s historical status.

Not all voters followed the majority trend for the 2026 prediction. Petrolul Ploiești’s Sergiu Hanca and U Cluj captain Alexandru Chipciu both voted for Lionel Messi to win the 2026 Ballon d'Or. Paul Iacob stood alone in selecting Rodri for the 2026 award, though he joined the majority in picking Messi for the all-time list.

The preferences for the all-time award showed minor variation outside the dominant choice of Messi. Rapid’s Alex Dobre and Eduard Papp were the only two participants who voted for Cristiano Ronaldo as the greatest of all time. The rest of the group maintained their support for Lionel Messi in the historical category.