France Football has announced the nominees in every category of the 2026 Ballon d'Or, with the ceremony set for October 26 in London, England.
The award, one of football's biggest honors, is marking its 70th anniversary this year. Organizers moved the ceremony away from its usual home in France to honor former England forward Stanley Matthews, the first-ever Ballon d'Or winner.
Best Player (Men)
Ousmane Dembélé, the reigning men's Ballon d'Or winner, is nominated again as he defends his title. Spain, the reigning World Cup champions, supplied the most nominees of any country with six: Pau Cubarsí, Marc Cucurella, Rodri, Fabián Ruiz, Lamine Yamal and Ferran Torres.
Lionel Messi, the award's all-time leader with eight wins, was nominated again for his season with the Argentina national team and Inter Miami. Three Brazilians made the 30-man shortlist: Gabriel Magalhães, Marquinhos and Vinícius Júnior.
- Jude Bellingham (England, Real Madrid)
- Pau Cubarsí (Spain, Barcelona)
- Marc Cucurella (Spain, Chelsea/Real Madrid)
- Ousmane Dembélé (France, PSG)
- Luis Díaz (Colombia, Bayern Munich)
- Bruno Fernandes (Portugal, Manchester United)
- Gabriel Magalhães (Brazil, Arsenal)
- Erling Haaland (Norway, Manchester City)
- Harry Kane (England, Bayern Munich)
- Achraf Hakimi (Morocco, PSG)
- Lamine Yamal (Spain, Barcelona)
- Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (Georgia, PSG)
- Marquinhos (Brazil, PSG)
- Sadio Mané (Senegal, Al-Nassr)
- Lautaro Martínez (Argentina, Inter Milan)
- Kylian Mbappé (France, Real Madrid)
- Nuno Mendes (Portugal, PSG)
- Lionel Messi (Argentina, Inter Miami)
- Michael Olise (France, Bayern Munich)
- João Neves (Portugal, PSG)
- Willian Pacho (Ecuador, PSG)
- Julián Quiñones (Mexico, Al-Qadsiah)
- Declan Rice (England, Arsenal)
- Rodri (Spain, Manchester City/Barcelona)
- Fabián Ruiz (Spain, PSG)
- Ferran Torres (Spain, Barcelona/PSG)
- William Saliba (France, Arsenal)
- Dayot Upamecano (France, Bayern Munich)
- Vinícius Júnior (Brazil, Real Madrid)
- Vitinha (Portugal, PSG)
Best Player (Women)
Brazilian goalkeeper Lorena is among the 30 nominees for the women's award after ranking among the world's best in the 2025-26 season. Developed at Grêmio, she has played for Kansas City in the United States since 2025 and is a regular pick for national coach Arthur Elias, helping Brazil win silver at the 2024 Paris Olympics. She is also nominated separately for best goalkeeper.
- Lorena (Brazil, Kansas City)
- Selma Bacha (OL Lyonnes)
- Barbra Banda (Orlando Pride)
- Klara Bühl (Bayern Munich)
- Esmee Brugts (Barcelona)
- Mariona Caldentey (Arsenal)
- Scarlett Camberos (América)
- Kerstin Casparij (Manchester City)
- Temwa Chawinga (Kansas City)
- Cata Coll (Barcelona)
- Melchie Dumornay (OL Lyonnes)
- Caroline Graham Hansen (Barcelona)
- Alex Greenwood (Manchester City)
- Pernille Harder (Bayern Munich)
- Patri Guijarro (Barcelona)
- Rose Lavelle (Gotham FC)
- Yui Hasegawa (Manchester City)
- Mapi León (Barcelona/London City Lionesses)
- Melvine Malard (Manchester United/Chelsea)
- Manaka Matsubuko (North Carolina Courage/Chelsea)
- Ewa Pajor (Barcelona)
- Vivianne Miedema (Manchester City)
- Claudia Pina (Barcelona)
- Alexia Putellas (Barcelona/London City Lionesses)
- Alessia Russo (Arsenal)
- Momoko Tanikawa (Bayern Munich)
- Wendie Renard (OL Lyonnes)
- Khadija Shaw (Manchester City)
- Caroline Weir (Real Madrid/OL Lyonnes)
- Tessa Wullaert (Inter Milan/Como)
Best Coach
Spaniards dominate the men's coaching category, taking four of five nominee spots: Mikel Arteta (Arsenal), Luis Enrique (PSG), Unai Emery (Aston Villa) and Luis de la Fuente (Spain national team). Belgian Vincent Kompany, of Bayern Munich, completes the list. De la Fuente, who led Spain to this year's World Cup title, is the only nominee not currently managing a club.
Brazil women's coach Arthur Elias, nominated in the category the past two years, missed out this time. The only woman among the five nominees for the women's award is Elena Sadiku, who led Celtic to their first Scottish Women's Premier League title in 2025 and, now at Sweden's BK Häcken since December, won the UEFA Women's Europa Cup in May. She is nominated alongside Jonatan Giráldez (OL Lyonnes), Andrée Jeglertz (Manchester City), Nils Nielsen (Japan national team) and Pere Romeu (Barcelona).
Young Talent Awards
Among the 10 nominees for the Kopa Trophy, given to the best under-21 player, four have appeared on the list before: Lamine Yamal and Pau Cubarsí for the third time, and Ayyoub Bouaddi and Warren Zaïre-Emery for the second straight year. Yamal won the award in 2024 and 2025.
- Kerim Alajbegović (RB Salzburg/Juventus)
- Ayyoub Bouaddi (Lille/Manchester City)
- Pau Cubarsí (Barcelona)
- Yan Diomandé (RB Leipzig/Real Madrid)
- Lennart Karl (Bayern Munich)
- Éli Junior Kroupi (Bournemouth)
- Lamine Yamal (Barcelona)
- Johan Manzambi (Freiburg/Aston Villa)
- Ibrahim Maza (Bayer Leverkusen)
- Warren Zaïre-Emery (PSG)
The women's young talent nominees include the tournament's youngest player, 18-year-old Barcelona midfielder Clara Serrajordi, and its only defender, Chelsea's Veerle Buurman.
- Veerle Buurman (Netherlands, Chelsea defender, 20)
- Vicky López (Spain, Barcelona midfielder, 20)
- Felicia Schröder (Sweden, Real Madrid forward, 19)
- Clara Serrajordi (Spain, Barcelona midfielder, 18)
- Lily Yohannes (United States, Lyon midfielder, 19)
Best Goalkeeper
France Football named 10 nominees for the Yashin Trophy, given to the world's best men's goalkeeper of the 2025-26 season, with no Brazilians included: Yassine Bounou (Al-Hilal), Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid), Joan García (Barcelona), Gregor Kobel (Borussia Dortmund), Emiliano Martínez (nominated for his spell at Aston Villa), Édouard Mendy (Al-Ahly), David Raya (Arsenal), Matvey Safonov (PSG), Unai Simón (Athletic Bilbao) and Vozinha (Chaves). The standout inclusion is Vozinha, now at Chile's Colo-Colo, who drew attention worldwide for his saves in goal for Cape Verde at the World Cup.
Lorena is nominated for the women's goalkeeper award alongside Ann-Katrin Berger (Gotham FC), Cata Coll (Barcelona), Hannah Hampton (Chelsea) and Ayaka Yamashita (Manchester City). The 29-year-old joined the Brazil squad while at Grêmio under coach Pia Sundhage and became first choice under Arthur Elias. At the 2022 Copa América Femenina in Colombia, she became the only goalkeeper in the tournament's history to play every match without conceding a goal, and she was a key figure as Brazil won silver at the 2024 Olympics.
Club of the Year
Flamengo is among five nominees for men's club of the year, alongside Arsenal, Bayern Munich, Bodø/Glimt and PSG. Under coach Filipe Luís, the Brazilian club won the Campeonato Carioca, the Brazilian championship and the Copa Libertadores in 2025. Defending winner PSG returns after winning the Champions League, the French championship, the UEFA Super Cup, the Intercontinental Cup and the French Super Cup. Arsenal is nominated after winning the Premier League and finishing runner-up in the Champions League, while Bayern Munich made history in the Bundesliga. Bodø/Glimt is the list's surprise entry, having reached the last 16 of the Champions League.
Barcelona is the leading contender for women's club of the year after an unbeaten sweep of all four trophies it contested in 2025-26: the Champions League, the Spanish league, the Copa de la Reina and the Spanish Super Cup. The Catalan club, which won the award in 2023 and 2024 before losing out to Arsenal in 2025, is nominated alongside Bayern Munich, Club América, Manchester City and Lyon.
About the Ballon d'Or
The Ballon d'Or is awarded by France Football magazine, decided by a jury of 100 sports journalists representing the 100 top-ranked countries in the FIFA rankings. All international competitions count toward the assessment, with three criteria weighed in order of priority: individual performance, decisiveness and impressiveness; collective performances and achievements; and class and fair play.
At last year's ceremony, Ousmane Dembélé of PSG won the men's award, while Spain's Aitana Bonmatí was named the best women's player for the third consecutive year.
