Melchie Dumornay Tops Women's Ballon d'Or 2026 Power Rankings as Ewa Pajor and Khadija Shaw Close In

Dumornay Leads the Race for a New Winner

The race for the 2026 Women's Ballon d'Or is shaping up to crown a new winner, and according to the Guardian's latest power rankings, Haiti's Melchie Dumornay leads the field.

The technically brilliant 23-year-old midfielder was part of an OL Lyonnes side that lost 4-0 to Barcelona in last season's Champions League final, but her influence as the French club cruised to a domestic treble stepped up a gear. She was named player of the year by the French players' union, and her importance to Lyonnes was most clearly demonstrated by her absence through injury for their 2-1 loss to Arsenal in their Champions League semi-final first leg. She returned for the second leg and produced a player-of-the-match performance in a 3-1 win.

Dumornay scored five goals in Lyonnes' Champions League run and was named in the team of the tournament. A FotMob player snapshot fetched on 1 October 2026 shows her with three appearances, six goals and two assists in the 2025-26 Premiere Ligue season.

Pajor Finally Claims Her Champions League Crown

At No 2 is Barcelona's Ewa Pajor. After losing five Champions League finals, the Poland striker shook off her 'always the bridesmaid, never the bride' mantle in style with two goals as Barcelona thrashed Lyonnes in Oslo.

The 29-year-old's 11 goals in European competition last season matched Alexia Putellas's 2021-22 tally, which has not been bettered since Ada Hegerberg's record-breaking 15 in 2017-18. Pajor also scored 16 goals in Liga F, behind only her Barcelona teammate Claudia Pina, who scored 21.

Shaw's Golden Boot Hat-Trick and Double Glory

Khadija Shaw ranks third. The Manchester City and Jamaica striker is the only player to win three Women's Super League golden boots, and she won them consecutively. The 29-year-old was back to her unplayable best last season, scoring 21 goals in 22 games as Manchester City swept to a league and FA Cup double and, much to the club's relief, signing a new contract.

It is not just Shaw's numbers that are impressive; her hold-up play, defensive work and vision are also deeply impressive. All that helped her to the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) and Football Writers' Association (FWA) player of the year awards. She scored nine goals and was named in the Best XI in this year's Concacaf Women's Championship qualification, helping Jamaica make the tournament proper.

Putellas and Hasegawa Complete the Top Five

Fourth is Alexia Putellas, who was in stunning form in her final season at Barcelona before she moved to London City Lionesses in July. Having sustained an anterior cruciate ligament injury in 2022 that ruled her out of that summer's Euros, the two-time Ballon d'Or winner's return to action, and best form, took some time. She scored seven goals in the Champions League last season and nine goals and seven assists in Liga F, as Barcelona won a stunning quadruple. The 32-year-old also scored the second and third goals in a 4-0 defeat of England to secure Spain's World Cup qualification at their opponent's expense.

Yui Hasegawa rounds out the top five. The 29-year-old makes a third appearance on the Ballon d'Or longlist having missed out last year. She was a critical component in City's double, the conductor of Andrée Jeglertz's midfield. She was named in the PFA team of the year and also helped Japan to a third AFC Women's Asian Cup win, eight years after their last, earning World Cup qualification in the process.

The Rest of the Top 10

Sixth is Arsenal and England's Alessia Russo. It was a disappointing season for Arsenal, with only the Fifa Champions Cup trophy secured, but Russo stepped up a level for club as well as country. Switching between the No 9 and No 10 roles, it was the 27-year-old's all-round game that impressed the most, and she was named in the PFA team of the year. Her goal against Iceland in England's World Cup qualifying campaign in April moved her into the Lionesses' top-10 goalscorers.

Seventh is Kansas City Current's Temwa Chawinga. The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) top scorer and most valuable player for a second season running, the Malawi forward scored 15 goals as Kansas City Current finished top in the regular season, winning the NWSL Shield. The 28-year-old also scored five goals to take Malawi – who had never previously qualified – to the Women's Africa Cup of Nations final, making her the joint-highest goalscorer, and helping her country reach their first World Cup.

Eighth is Barcelona's Claudia Pina. It was a quiet Champions League season for Pina, with the 25-year-old scoring two goals, neither in the knockouts. However, she more than produced in Liga F, scoring 21 goals and providing five assists. The forward also scored twice in Spain's World Cup qualifying campaign, including the fourth against England to secure their place in Brazil.

Ninth is Patri Guijarro. Patri makes everything tick for Barcelona, providing the platform in midfield that allows Aitana Bonmatí and, last season, Putellas to flourish. The 28-year-old was critical to the quadruple, including playing a key role in keeping Lyonnes at bay in the Champions League final. The midfielder, handed her club's captaincy after Putellas's exit, plays a similarly important role for Spain.

Tenth is Orlando Pride's Barbra Banda. The Zambia forward scored eight goals as Orlando Pride earned a fourth-place finish in the NWSL last season, subsequently exiting the playoffs at the semi-final stage. Despite Zambia failing to reach the knockout stage of the Women's Africa Cup of Nations, finishing third in Group C and missing out on goals scored in head-to-head matches, Banda had a good tournament, scoring five goals to finish as joint-top scorer alongside Chawinga and Cameroon's Marie Ngah Manga. The 26-year-old was named in the Fifpro Women's World XI.

Rankings 11 to 19

Eleventh is Manchester City's Kerstin Casparij, who provided the joint-most assists in the WSL last season, seven, as City secured a second WSL title and their first in 10 years. The 26-year-old full-back also captained the side when Alex Greenwood was out injured and has become a real leader in the team.

Twelfth is Arsenal's Mariona Caldentey. She had to play out of her best position last season, a little bit deeper in midfield, which undermined the 30-year-old's ability to make things happen further forward. However, she still delivered week-in, week-out for Arsenal as well as regularly impressing for Spain.

Thirteenth is Barcelona's Caroline Graham Hansen. The 31-year-old winger scored 10 goals and finished the joint-highest assist provider in Liga F, also with 10, as Barcelona won the quadruple. She also scored four times in the Champions League.

Fourteenth is OL Lyonnes' Selma Bacha, who was named in the Champions League team of the season for her impressive displays as an attacking left-back. The 25-year-old was also named in the Premiere Ligue team of the season as Lyonnes went about winning a domestic treble.

Fifteenth is Bayern Munich's Pernille Harder. The 33-year-old striker scored a joint-second 16 goals in the Frauen Bundesliga last season, as well as eight in Europe. She was named in the Champions League's team of the season.

Sixteenth is Manchester City's Vivianne Miedema. Her value to City was most evident in her absence, with the 30-year-old missing five games at the end of last season due to knee surgery. City won their first WSL title in 10 years, but were far less slick without the Dutch forward, who scored 10 league goals.

Seventeenth is Mapi León, who was named in the Champions League team of the season and was a rock at the back for Barcelona. In addition to her defensive duties, the 31-year-old centre-back provided seven assists in the league and joined London City Lionesses in July.

Eighteenth is Gotham FC's Rose Lavelle. She was the hero of Gotham FC's NWSL playoff run, scoring the winning goal in the 80th minute of the Championship final after the team had scraped into the playoffs with an eighth-place regular-season finish. The 31-year-old midfielder was named in the NWSL team of the month in September and October/November as Gotham started their title defence impressively.

Nineteenth is Kansas City Current's Lorena. The Brazilian kept an impressive 14 clean sheets in the NWSL last season to help Kansas City Current to the NWSL Shield. Despite the Current suffering a shock playoff exit to Gotham in the quarter-finals, the 29-year-old goalkeeper earned recognition among the leading contenders.

A Race Wide Open

With a mix of established Ballon d'Or winners and rising stars filling out the list, the 2026 edition promises a fiercely contested battle for football's most prestigious individual honour. The question remains whether a first-time winner will be crowned when the votes are counted.