Marc Cucurella is 18th in the world.
The 2026 Ballon d’Or jury placed Spain’s left-back inside the top 20, ahead of a group of players with far more goals and headlines on their CVs. It is a rarefied zone for a full-back.
The ceremony on Monday night was staged at the London Palladium, the first edition held outside Paris. Harry Kane, the Bayern Munich striker, became the first English men’s winner since Michael Owen in 2001. Kylian Mbappé, Lamine Yamal, Rodri and Lionel Messi completed the top five.
A defender’s rarity in the top 20
The Ballon d’Or vote is a goalscorer’s vote. Finishing 18th as a full-back puts Cucurella above almost every other defender on the list, Achraf Hakimi (13th) and Pau Cubarsí (12th) excepted, and above a wall of attackers:
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- 19. João Neves (Paris Saint-Germain)
- 20. Willian Pacho (Paris Saint-Germain)
- 21. Gabriel Magalhães (Arsenal)
- 22. Lautaro Martínez (Inter)
- 23. Nuno Mendes (Paris Saint-Germain)
- 24. Luis Díaz (Bayern Munich)
- 25. Marquinhos (Paris Saint-Germain)
- 26. Dayot Upamecano (Bayern Munich)
- 27. Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United)
- 28. Julián Quiñones (Al-Qadsiah)
- 29. William Saliba (Arsenal) and Sadio Mané (Al-Nassr), tied
The World Cup did the heavy lifting
The season behind the ranking was his last at Chelsea, where he lifted the Conference League and the Club World Cup. The tournament behind it was Spain’s World Cup, and he played every minute of it.
Spain beat Argentina 1-0 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford on 19 July. Ferran Torres scored in extra time, and Cucurella had won the ball and carried it forward in the move that led to the goal.
Spain had outshot Argentina 20-3 and held 60% of the possession in a final it dominated without converting until Torres’ 106th-minute winner.
Chelsea to Chamartín for £47.5m
Real Madrid completed the signing on 15 June, with Chelsea receiving £47.5m plus £4.3m in add-ons that could push the fee to £51.8m. Cucurella signed a six-year contract.
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He left Chelsea after 163 appearances across four seasons. He now joins Mbappé (2nd), Jude Bellingham (11th) and Vinícius Júnior (17th) as Real Madrid players inside the Ballon d’Or top 20.
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