Ed Sheeran has cowritten two of the ten biggest songs in the world this week, according to Billboard's Global 200 chart dated 8 August, despite not performing as an artist in the top 10 for over a year. His writing credits bookend the chart: he is one of five cowriters on the chart-topping "Dai Dai (FIFA World Cup Official Song 2026)" by Shakira and Burna Boy, and one of four cowriters on KATSEYE's "Animal", which debuts at number 10. The feat underlines Sheeran's enduring influence as a songwriter for other artists even as his own performing career has cooled on the global charts, echoing a similar milestone in 2021 when he first topped the chart as a cowriter rather than a performer.

"Dai Dai" holds the top spot for a fourth consecutive week, though its worldwide streams dipped 2% to 56.8 million in the week ending 30 July, according to Luminate, marking its first weekly decline since its May release and the first tracking week after the World Cup ended. "Animal" launches with 29.8 million global streams, giving South Korean-American group KATSEYE their first top 10 entry on the chart, surpassing their previous best with "Gabriella". Sheeran previously topped the Global 200 as a cowriter on BTS's "Permission to Dance" in 2021, and his own hits "Perfect" and "Shape of You", both from 2017, remain on the chart to this day, logging over 300 weeks apiece.