Five days before the 2026 Ballon d’Or ceremony, former Cameroon international Patrick Mboma has revealed his Top 5, with Lionel Messi at the top. He includes neither of the two nominated Africans, Achraf Hakimi and Sadio Mané.
With the 2026 Ballon d’Or ceremony approaching, Patrick Mboma has revealed his exclusive world Top 5, according to AfricaFoot. The trophy is due to be handed out at a gala, but the former Cameroon international’s ranking is already making headlines.
In that ranking, Lionel Messi, the Inter Miami and Argentina forward, comes ahead of Kylian Mbappé (Real Madrid), Lamine Yamal, Harry Kane and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. On the African side, only two players feature among France Football’s official 30 nominees: Achraf Hakimi and Sadio Mané.
Messi, Mboma’s first choice
At 39, Lionel Messi takes first place in the Top 5. To justify the choice, Patrick Mboma highlights the Argentinian’s performance at the 2026 World Cup, where he led Argentina all the way to the final. The 2000 African Ballon d’Or winner points to that run, according to comments collected by AfricaFoot.
“For me, Lionel Messi is the best footballer in history. He is 39 and he proved it in 2025/26. But it is what he did with Argentina at the World Cup that explains why I put him number 1. Several times, he woke up and saved a rather average national team and got it to the final, when without him it would probably have been eliminated earlier,” he told AfricaFoot.
Behind the Argentinian, Mboma names Kylian Mbappé, Lamine Yamal, Harry Kane and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.
Hakimi and Mané, the only Africans nominated
Achraf Hakimi makes his second consecutive appearance in the Ballon d’Or top 30. Sadio Mané, for his part, records his fifth career nomination for this individual award.
Neither player features in Patrick Mboma’s Top 5. Yet in the past, the former international had called for an African player such as Hakimi to be crowned, according to Camerfoot-infos. His current position therefore contrasts with those statements. It is, however, a personal statement, not an official vote.
Patrick Mboma’s record
Now 55, Patrick Mboma won 55 caps and scored 33 goals in the Indomitable Lions shirt. His honours include the 2000 AFCON, the 2002 AFCON, the gold medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics and the 2000 African Player of the Year award.
The 2026 Ballon d’Or trophy will be officially awarded on Monday 26 October 2026, at the gala at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris.