Dumornay tops Women's Ballon d'Or 2026 power rankings as Barcelona's chasing pack lurks

With the 2026 Women's Ballon d'Or approaching, The Guardian's traditional power rankings have landed, and the verdict is in: Lyonnes midfielder Melchie Dumornay is the player to beat. The 23-year-old Haitian leads the list ahead of a formidable chasing pack headed by Barcelona's Ewa Pajor and Manchester City's Khadija Shaw — but the tantalising question remains whether a new winner will finally be crowned.

Women's football action imagery from the Guardian

Dumornay's influence trumps a final defeat

Dumornay's case rests on influence, not silverware. Yes, she was part of the Lyonnes side thrashed 4-0 by Barcelona in last season's Champions League final — but her stranglehold on the midfield as her club cruised to a domestic treble stepped up a gear throughout the campaign. Named player of the year by the French players' union, the technically brilliant playmaker's value to Lyonnes was most clearly demonstrated by her absence through injury during the 2-1 first-leg loss to Arsenal in the Champions League semi-final. She returned for the second leg and produced a player-of-the-match performance in a 3-1 win, finishing the European run with five goals and a place in the team of the tournament.

Pajor finally sheds the bridesmaid tag

Hot on her heels at No 2 is Ewa Pajor, who shook off five losing Champions League finals in emphatic style with two goals as Barcelona thrashed Lyonnes in Oslo. The 29-year-old's 11 goals in European competition matched Alexia Putellas's 2021-22 tally — a mark not bettered since Ada Hegerberg's record-breaking 15 in 2017-18. Add 16 goals in Liga F, behind only Barcelona teammate Claudia Pina's 21, and Pajor's credentials are impeccable.

Shaw's unplayable best, and a storming Putellas farewell

At No 3, Khadija Shaw is the only player ever to win three consecutive Women's Super League golden boots. Back to her unplayable best, she scored 21 goals in 22 games as Manchester City swept to a league and FA Cup double — and, much to the club's relief, signed a new contract. Beyond the numbers, her hold-up play, defensive work and vision impressed, earning her the PFA and FWA player of the year awards, plus nine goals in Concacaf Women's Championship qualification as Jamaica reached the tournament proper.

Alexia Putellas, the two-time Ballon d'Or winner, sits fourth after a stunning final season at Barcelona before her July move to London City Lionesses. Returning to form slowly after the anterior cruciate ligament injury that ruled her out of Euro 2022, the 32-year-old scored seven Champions League goals and nine goals and seven assists in Liga F as Barcelona won a stunning quadruple. She also struck twice in Spain's 4-0 World Cup qualifying demolition of England — a result that secured La Roja's place in Brazil at the Lionesses' expense.

Behind the leading quartet

Yui Hasegawa (No 5) makes a third Ballon d'Or longlist appearance as the conductor of City's midfield, claiming a PFA team of the year spot and helping Japan to a third AFC Women's Asian Cup. Arsenal's Alessia Russo (No 6) stepped up for club and country despite a lean season, moving into the Lionesses' top-10 goalscorers with her strike against Iceland.

Kansas City Current's Temwa Chawinga (No 7) is the NWSL's top scorer and MVP for a second straight season, scoring 15 league goals and five more to carry Malawi to their first-ever World Cup. Claudia Pina (No 8) was quiet in Europe but exploded in Liga F with 21 goals and five assists, while Patri Guijarro (No 9) — handed Barcelona's captaincy after Putellas's exit — remains the platform that lets Aitana Bonmatí flourish. Orlando Pride's Barbra Banda (No 10), joint-top scorer at the Women's Africa Cup of Nations alongside Chawinga and Cameroon's Marie Ngah Manga, rounds out the top ten with a spot in the Fifpro Women's World XI.

The chasing pack

Kerstein Casparij (No 11) provided the joint-most WSL assists and captained City when Alex Greenwood was injured; Mariona Caldentey (No 12) delivered week-in-week-out for Arsenal despite playing out of position; Caroline Graham Hansen (No 13) hit 10 goals and joint-most assists in Liga F; and Selma Bacha (No 14) earned Champions League team of the season honours as an attacking left-back for Lyonnes.

Bayern's Pernille Harder (No 15) scored 16 Frauen Bundesliga goals while also impress in Europe. Vivianne Miedema (No 16)'s worth to City was most evident in her absence through knee surgery. Mapi León (No 17), another Champions League team of the season pick, was a rock at the back for Barcelona before joining London City Lionesses. Rose Lavelle (No 18) was Gotham FC's playoff hero, scoring the 80th-minute winner in the Championship final, while Brazilian keeper Lorena (No 19) kept an astonishing 14 clean sheets as Kansas City Current took the NWSL Shield.

With Putellas chasing an unprecedented third crown and a host of first-time candidates — led by Dumornay, Pajor and Shaw — in red-hot form, the 2026 ceremony promises to be one of the most fascinating in the award's history.