Nigeria’s journalist in the 2026 men’s Ballon d’Or voting placed Rodri first and Ousmane Dembélé second, even though neither finished among the top three in the final standings.
The voting breakdown published by France Football on Friday showed Nigeria was one of 10 countries whose representatives gave the top spot to the Manchester City midfielder, who finished fourth overall with 726 points.
The other nine countries were the United States, Guatemala, South Korea, the Czech Republic, Serbia, Thailand, Vietnam, Croatia and Iceland.
Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane won the award with 1,055 points, finishing 28 points ahead of Real Madrid forward Kylian Mbappé, who collected 1,027. Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal placed third with 881 points.
Nigeria’s ballot also put Paris Saint-Germain forward Dembélé in second place. The 2025 winner finished seventh in this year’s ranking and received no first-place votes from the 100 journalists who participated.
Dembélé was ranked second by voters from seven countries: Burkina Faso, China, France, Georgia, Haiti, North Macedonia and Nigeria.
The award’s voting panel comprised journalists from the 100 highest-ranked countries in the FIFA rankings. Each voter selected 10 players from the shortlist, with points allocated according to their positions: 15 for first place, 12 for second, 10 for third and decreasing points down to one for 10th.
Kane’s 28-point margin over Mbappé marked the fourth-closest finish in the history of the men’s Ballon d’Or.
