From Seville to Barcelona, Ivan Rakitic has spent enough of his career around the game’s biggest nights to know how quickly a Ballon d’Or argument can turn. The former Croatia midfielder sees no dominant candidate for the 2026 prize so far, but he believes Spain has supplied the strongest group of contenders.
No single player has taken command
Rakitic said the remaining major matches may still shape the race. In his view, neither club football nor the World Cup has produced one player who has stood distinctly above the rest throughout the year.
He contrasted the present contest with the era in which Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo repeatedly set the standard. While several players have posted prolific scoring numbers in their domestic competitions, Rakitic argued that some then failed to carry that level into the World Cup; others have had the opposite trajectory.
- Rakitic does not see an obvious favourite for the 2026 Ballon d’Or.
- He believes club form and World Cup performances have been split among different candidates.
- For him, no current player has replicated the sustained supremacy once associated with Messi and Ronaldo.
Spain’s depth shapes his prediction
Despite his uncertainty over an individual winner, Rakitic was firm on the national picture. He said Spain’s candidates are the leading group and suggested that choosing five or six Spanish names at random could still produce a credible winner.
His conclusion was straightforward: the award should go to a Spanish player.
Olise, Lamine and Rodri on Rakitic’s podium
Pressed to identify his top three, Rakitic opted for a podium containing three players rather than settling immediately on a precise finishing order. He named Michael Olise, Lamine and Rodri.
- Olise is a player Rakitic particularly admires, describing him as someone with a different quality.
- However, Rakitic felt Olise’s World Cup was not flawless.
- Lamine and Rodri were the other two names he placed alongside Olise in his personal top three.
The assessment leaves the 2026 race open, with Rakitic viewing Spain’s collective strength as more convincing than any one player’s claim to have already made the award his own.
