Xlovecam – The Sexiest Player of the 2026 World Cup
July 2026
This new study identifies who French people consider to be the sexiest player of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
One choice only among 20 players.
Cristiano Ronaldo receives more than twice as many votes as his closest challenger. Michael Olise (10.2%) and Kylian Mbappé (10.1%) are statistically tied. Twelve of the twenty players receive less than 5% of the vote.
Ronaldo performs almost identically among both groups (20.9% among men and 22.1% among women), demonstrating broad appeal across genders. It is behind him that preferences begin to diverge.
Among women, the podium is Ronaldo – Mbappé (12.3%) – De Paul and Olise tied (9.4%). The differences in favor of Mbappé (+4.5 percentage points compared with men, p = 0.017) and Rodrigo De Paul (+4.1 points, p = 0.014) are statistically significant. In fact, the Argentine owes most of his score to female respondents, who account for 48 of his 74 votes.
Among men, Ronaldo is followed by Olise (11.0%) and Bellingham (8.2%). Erling Haaland is the only player ranked significantly higher by men (5.9% vs. 3.3%, p = 0.049). Lamine Yamal follows the same trend (5.3% vs. 3.5%), although the difference is not statistically significant.
Cristiano Ronaldo tops the rankings among both men (20.9%) and women (22.1%). The main differences concern second place, held by Michael Olise among men (11.0%) and Kylian Mbappé among women (12.3%), as well as Rodrigo De Paul, who is mentioned more often by women (9.4% vs. 5.3%). The remaining differences between the two groups are more limited.
The contrast between Ronaldo and Bellingham perfectly illustrates the generational divide: Ronaldo's score increases by 10 percentage points between respondents aged 18–34 and those aged 55 and over, while Bellingham loses nearly 12 points. Lamine Yamal follows the same downward trend as Bellingham, although on a smaller scale (6.5% → 3.3%).
A closer look by age group confirms this shift. Among 18–24-year-olds, the podium is Bellingham (15.7%), Olise (13.9%), and Ronaldo (12%)—the only age group in which the Portuguese star does not rank first. From the 25–34 age group onward, Ronaldo regains the lead, with his score peaking among respondents aged 55–64 (27.2%). Kylian Mbappé displays a unique U-shaped curve, performing well among both younger respondents (9–10%) and those aged 65 and over (13.1%), where he ranks second behind Ronaldo.
The chart compares the scores of five players across three age groups: 18–34, 35–54, and 55 and over.
Cristiano Ronaldo is the most frequently selected player across all generations. He receives 15.3% of the vote among respondents aged 18–34, 21.8% among those aged 35–54, and 25.4% among respondents aged 55 and over, reflecting increasing popularity with age.
Kylian Mbappé receives 9.2% of the vote among respondents aged 18–34, 8.6% among those aged 35–54, and 12.1% among respondents aged 55 and over. Michael Olise is more popular among younger respondents, with 12.3% among the 18–34 age group, compared with 9.5% in the two older groups.
Jude Bellingham is particularly popular among respondents aged 18–34 (14.9%), but his score falls to 8.6% among those aged 35–54 and drops further to 3.1% among respondents aged 55 and over. Lamine Yamal follows a similar pattern, scoring 6.5% among the youngest respondents, 4.0% among those aged 35–54, and 3.3% among those aged 55 and over.
Note. The sample's age structure (57% of respondents are aged 45 and over) mechanically boosts the overall scores of players who are particularly popular among older respondents. In a younger sample, the gap between Ronaldo and the Olise–Mbappé duo would likely be considerably smaller, and Bellingham would move onto the podium.
Strong differences across occupational groups
Students are the only group in which Cristiano Ronaldo does not make the podium. Jude Bellingham tops the rankings with an impressive 27.5%, ahead of Michael Olise (17.5%) and Kylian Mbappé (15.0%). At the other end of the spectrum, Ronaldo records his highest scores among unemployed respondents and homemakers (34.0%) and among retirees (24.6%)—two groups that partly reflect the age effect described above. However, these results should be interpreted with caution, as three occupational categories are based on relatively small sample sizes (40 to 50 respondents).
Some Regional Differences
Ronaldo ranks first in every major French region, with particularly strong results in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (29.2%) and Nouvelle-Aquitaine (26.4%). Mbappé performs best in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (15.9%) and Hauts-de-France (14.0%), where Michael Olise records his lowest regional score (4.4%). However, these regional differences are based on relatively small sample sizes (69 to 213 respondents) and should therefore be interpreted as indicative trends rather than definitive conclusions.
With 21.5% of the vote, the Portuguese star ranks first across nearly every segment—men, women, all socio-professional categories, and every age group—with one exception: among respondents aged 18–24, he ranks only third (12.0%), behind Jude Bellingham (15.7%) and Michael Olise (13.9%).
Three differences are statistically significant: Kylian Mbappé (12.3% among women vs. 7.8% among men), Rodrigo De Paul (9.4% vs. 5.3%), and, in the opposite direction, Erling Haaland (5.9% among men vs. 3.3% among women).
Ronaldo's score steadily increases with age (15.3% among respondents aged 18–34 versus 25.4% among those aged 55 and over), while Bellingham's popularity drops sharply (14.9% → 3.1%). Younger respondents favor younger players, while older respondents tend to choose established stars.
Among students, Bellingham dominates the rankings with 27.5% of the vote, while Ronaldo falls to 7.5%. Conversely, Ronaldo reaches 34.0% among unemployed respondents and homemakers, and 24.6% among retirees.
The combined score of the five French players (Olise, Mbappé, Hernández, Dembélé, and Rabiot) exceeds Ronaldo's individual score, with an even stronger result among women (29.4%) and respondents aged 55 and over (31.0%).
Online study conducted by:
Selvitys, Online Research Platform
TO CITE THIS STUDY, PLEASE USE AT LEAST THE FOLLOWING WORDING:
“Selvitys study for XloveCam, conducted in July 2026 using a self-administered online questionnaire among a representative sample of 1,000 adults aged 18 and over living in France.”