{
  "id": 16601324,
  "title": "Ballon d'Or: Messi, Yamal and Mbappe among favourites; how the winners are decided",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/26/ballon-dor-messi-yamal-and-mbappe-among-favourites-how-the-winners",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-10-26T11:42:13.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Times of India",
    "slug": "times-of-india",
    "url": "https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/football/top-stories/ballon-dor-2026-lionel-messi-yamal-and-mbappe-among-favourites-how-the-winners-are-decided/articleshow/135210649.cms"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "At 39, Messi still remains in contention for football's biggest individual honour after his performances at the World Cup. While the focus is increasingly shifting towards a potential Yamal-Mbappé rivalry, Harry Kane's remarkable goalscoring form could delay the start of a new era by another year.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}