Three days before the London ceremony, former Ivory Coast Elephants striker Wilfried Bony has revealed his Top 5 for the 2026 Ballon d’Or and hailed the rise of young African talents, according to AfricaFoot.
Three days before the official 2026 Ballon d’Or ceremony, scheduled for Monday 26 October 2026 in London, positions are multiplying. The latest: that of Wilfried Bony, former star striker of the Ivory Coast Elephants, who has revealed his Top 5, reports AfricaFoot.
The field is framed: France Football specified that voting closed in September and covered the period from 3 August 2025 to 19 July 2026. The list of 30 nominees includes global stars such as Lamine Yamal, Kylian Mbappé and Harry Kane. The exact content of the ranking delivered by the former Ivory Coast international, however, was not made public in the available material.
A series with five legends
Wilfried Bony’s intervention is part of a special interview series launched by AfricaFoot, which approached five African football legends before the trophy presentation. The former striker follows similar positions published by Patrick Mboma and Mustapha Hadji.
In this exercise, the former Manchester City and Swansea City striker assessed the 2025-2026 season, highlighting individual performances and major titles, according to the same source.
At 37, Wilfried Bony won the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations with Ivory Coast against Ghana.
The new African wave
Beyond his choice, the former Elephant stressed the meteoric rise of young gems from the diaspora or the continent, reports AfricaFoot. On the continent, the hope is to see an African representative, or a talent of African origin, break into the world Top 5 at this edition.
Bony’s intervention thus completes AfricaFoot’s series, without lifting the mystery on the precise content of his vote. It is part of a series that calls on African football legends to comment on the race for the most prestigious individual trophy.
See you Monday in London
The official 2026 Ballon d’Or ceremony will be held on Monday 26 October 2026 in London, with a list of 30 nominees.