Michael Olise finished ninth at the 2026 Ballon d’Or, while his Bayern Munich teammate Harry Kane took the trophy at a ceremony in London on 26 October 2026. For a winger many pundits had tipped for the podium, it is a result that sparked plenty of searches and plenty of arguments.
Here is what the Olise Ballon d’Or story actually looks like once you set the hype aside: the numbers, the rankings and what comes next.
Key takeaways
- Olise ranked ninth in the 2026 Ballon d’Or, according to Football360’s full top 30, which Bundesliga.com’s ceremony coverage also backs.
- Kane won, so the top two places on the Bayern roster were split between a winner and a ninth-place finisher.
- A year earlier, Olise was ranked 30th. Ninth is a big jump, even if it is short of the hype.
- His case rested on assists, big-match moments and a domestic double, not a mountain of goals.
Where did Olise finish in the Ballon d’Or 2026?
Ninth. The ceremony took place on Monday, 26 October 2026, at the London Palladium, and Kane was announced as the winner. Bundesliga.com’s live coverage confirms both Kane’s win and Olise’s ninth place.
The year before, in September 2025, Heidelberg24 reported Olise in 30th and Kane in 13th. Here is how the two Bayern players moved.
| Player | Ballon d’Or 2025 | Ballon d’Or 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Michael Olise | 30th | 9th |
| Harry Kane | 13th | 1st (winner) |
Why did people expect more from Olise?
Because his 2025/26 season was loud. The Bundesliga’s own write-up of his case lists 34 direct goal involvements, the most assists in the league, and eight Champions League assists, joint-best in the competition. He was also named Bundesliga Player of the Season ahead of Kane.
Opta’s data site The Analyst has his Bundesliga return at 15 goals and 19 assists in 32 appearances. An assist is the final pass before a goal, and Olise is a specialist in the kind that comes from a dribble, not a set piece.
There were headline moments too. In the Champions League quarter-final second leg against Real Madrid he scored a late winner in added time, in a 4-3 win that sealed a 6-4 aggregate. At the World Cup he recorded seven assists in eight appearances, a single-tournament record according to Bundesliga.com.
Big voices were on his side. Thomas Müller tipped him over Kane, and Oliver Kahn called him a clear favourite, per News Ghana’s roundup.
Why did Kane win instead?
The voting breakdown has not been published in the sources I could verify, so any explanation is informed guesswork. My opinion: when two players share a team, voters often reward the one who finishes the moves. Kane scores, and goals are the easiest thing to point to.
Olise’s game is harder to compress into one number. Think of a film’s cinematographer against its lead actor: the work is visible, but the poster has someone else’s face on it.
Bayern’s own president saw it coming. Herbert Hainer backed Kane and added that Olise “has many more years ahead of him to win the Ballon d’Or.”
Is ninth place a failure or a step forward?
Compare it with 2025, when he was ranked 30th. Moving from 30th to 9th in one year, while winning a league title and a domestic double, is progress by any honest measure.
It is only a disappointment if you measured it against the tipping of Müller and Kahn. Against his own record, it is a clear step up.
What happens next for Olise?
Olise is still young in Ballon d’Or terms, and he sits in the same Bayern attack as the reigning winner. That cuts both ways: Kane’s goals help Olise’s assists, but they also soak up the credit.
The next shortlist should arrive around September 2027, with voting and the ceremony in the weeks after. For Olise to move up, the simplest route is more goals alongside the creating, since that is the number voters can see at a glance.
Watch the Champions League knockout rounds. That stage decided much of his 2026 case, and it will likely decide 2027 too.
FAQ
Where did Michael Olise finish in the 2026 Ballon d’Or?
He finished ninth, according to Football360 and Bundesliga.com’s coverage of the 26 October 2026 ceremony in London.
Who won the 2026 Ballon d’Or?
Harry Kane of Bayern Munich won the 2026 men’s award, announced on 26 October 2026.
How did Olise’s ranking change from 2025?
He was reported in 30th place in September 2025 and ninth in 2026, a rise of 21 places.
Want the wider picture? Read how the ceremony played out for the other winners, then check back when the 2027 shortlist is released.
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