Why Melchie Dumornay should lead the way in a Ballon d’Or race that challenges the status quo

There is something about the glamor of a Champions League final that conjures up the imagination of the Ballon d’Or.

On paper, except for their physical proximity to each other, the European competition has no more to do with the French awarding the player voted best in the world than any other continental tournament. And yet a successful UEFA Champions League campaign, individually or as a team, has proven more effective in securing the Ballon d’Or than any other competition apart from the World Cup.

Look no further than the last five awards, split between three-time Ballon d’Or winner Aitana Bonamati and two-time winner Alexia Putellas. Both were mainstays of the FC Barcelona team that won four of the last six Champions League finals and participated in all six. (He also won the World Cup with Spain in 2023 and made it to the European Championship in 2025.)

What is the appropriate balance between a candidate’s achievements for club and country to earn a Ballon d’Or nomination? And how prestigious should each of those teams be?

One of the most prominent changes in the women’s game globally has been the rise of star players from countries outside North America and Europe. Increasingly, they represent countries at the international level rather than former colonial powers with whom they may also have relations.

By some measures, this has presented a conundrum when assessing a player’s talent for the Ballon d’Or award. Huge differences in the development and investment of national teams and the federations that govern them lead to contradictions in the quality of competition from one region to another.

The weighting of those factors has historically tilted toward Europe. The time has come to change this, and there may be no better player in France to make up for this departure than Melchi Dumornay of OL Lyon.

After finishing 18th in the Ballon d’Or rankings last year, the Haitian midfielder deserves a place in the top three.

It could have been even better if Lyon had won the Champions League this year. Instead, the eight-time champions were beaten by a clinical and patient Barcelona in Saturday’s final by a decisive four goals to nil, but that should not diminish Dumornay’s influence on Lyon and all of European women’s football. He is one of the most important players for any team’s success, a reality that was on display during Lyon’s semi-final clash against 2025 European champions Arsenal.

Dumornay was on the bench due to injury in the first leg and Arsenal won 2–1. He returned for the second leg and Lyon won 3–1, including a superb assist from German winger Jul Brand to seal their victory. Overall, Dumornay recorded five goals and one assist in Lyon’s Champions League campaign and another six goals and seven assists in the French Premier League. He was voted league MVP, and in the league final on Friday, he scored a hat-trick against Paris FC, which Lyon defeated 5–0. This was on top of their 4–1 French Cup win over Paris Saint-Germain in May, for which Dumornay also earned best player honours.

She has been a key presence for the Haitian women’s national team as they seek World Cup qualification for the second time. Ranked 50th in the world by FIFA and coached by veteran Swedish manager Pia Sundhage, Haiti currently top their group with Mexico, Jamaica, Costa Rica, Panama and El Salvador.

What is this FRAPPE EXTRAORDINARE??? 🤯

Melchi Dumornay et les Lyonesse de l’Oil font sombrer le Paris FC, la suite de sete finale Folle sur Canal 📺#ArkemaPL | #OLPFC pic.twitter.com/raiVJDeXVr

– CANAL+ Foot (@CanalplusFoot) May 29, 2026

Of course Dumornay is not the only player who deserves the distinction of being the first non-American or European player to win the Ballon d’Or. Manchester City’s Japanese midfielder Yui Hasegawa failed to make the top 30 list last year. The 29-year-old’s prospects should be brighter this time around after a continental championship with Japan and a title race with Manchester City at the AFC Asian Cup in March saw them lift the WSL trophy for the first time in a decade. Hasegawa was at the center of both, arguably the most complete defensive midfielder in the women’s game at this time. Historically, Asian women’s football has not been treated with the same respect as its European counterparts, but Japan, with its World Cup pedigree, has set out to change that narrative.

As the Mexican professional league Liga MX Femenil continues to rise to domestic and international prominence, they will soon demand attention at the Ballon d’Or as well. Club America captain and Mexican national team forward Scarlett Camberos has been involved in two champion races for her club this week: the Clausura on May 17 and their first CONCACAF W Champions Cup title six days later. By winning CONCACAF, the U.S. qualifies for the inaugural FIFA Club World Cup, scheduled to begin in January 2028. (Barcelona also qualified by winning the Champions League.) Should Mexico punch its ticket to the 2027 World Cup, players like Camberos would also be deserving of the international recognition of a Ballon d’Or nomination.

Lyon forward Ada Hegerberg was the inaugural Ballon d’Or recipient in 2018, the same year the French side won their third Champions League title. The following year, it went to US forward Megan Rapinoe. The only non-European Ballon d’Or winner to date, Rapinoe’s shock of purple hair, spectacular goal celebrations and infamous refusal of a visit to the Trump White House defined the U.S. Women’s National Team’s triumphant run at the 2019 World Cup, for which she won the Golden Boot.

But not all European countries are treated equally. Barcelona striker Eva Pajor was a poetic hero as the Catalan side lifted their first Champions League trophy after five unsuccessful attempts. The Polish forward finally found glory last weekend, his pair of goals first providing relief, then security, to Barcelona’s resolve against Lyon. Even after adding in the 16 goals he scored in 22 appearances for Barcelona in the Spanish Liga F and subtracting the Ballon d’Or boost he received after Poland failed to qualify for the 2027 World Cup, Pajor is still worthy of a top five finish.

It’s been all Spain and Barcelona – in particular, Putellas and Bonamati, the only two Ballon d’Or winners since 2021. Putellas won back-to-back awards in 2021 and 2022, with Barcelona winning their first Champions League and reaching the final of the second, respectively. Bonamati topped the list with three consecutive Ballon d’Or honors, starting the year Spain won its first World Cup in 2023.

Spain was a finalist at the Euros last summer. Despite Bonamati being absent from most of the group stage matches after recovering from viral meningitis, he contributed significantly to his team’s journey through the knockout stages, recording an assist in the quarter-finals against Switzerland and scoring the game-winning goal in the semi-finals against Germany. In the Euro final, Spain lost to England on penalties by three goals to one. Bonamati, Mariona Caldente – last year’s Ballon d’Or runner-up – and Salma Parluelo all missed their shots.

If such setbacks were not enough to thwart Bonamati or Caldenti’s chances at the Ballon d’Or, neither was the fact that Dumorne did not win the Champions League, or Hasegawa did not compete in it, or Pajor could not qualify for the World Cup with Poland. Like many things in the women’s game, it is essential to fully appreciate what these special players have to offer.