2026 Ballon d'Or Nominees Revealed: PSG Leads with Nine Players on the Shortlist

Paris Saint-Germain Dominates 2026 Ballon d'Or Nominations

The Ballon d'Or, soccer's most prestigious individual honor, has unveiled its 30-player shortlist for 2026, with Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) leading the nominations. Nine players from PSG's squad, which triumphed in the 2025-26 European season under coach Luis Enrique, earned spots on the list.

Among the contenders is last year’s winner, Ousmane Dembele of PSG, aiming to defend his title. Fellow forward Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, also from PSG, features prominently. Newcomer Ferran Torres, who scored Spain’s decisive goal in the World Cup final and recently transferred from Barcelona to PSG, joins the nominees for the first time.

Spain stands out with six nominees, including Rodri, the 2024 winner and World Cup Golden Ball recipient, now playing alongside Lamine Yamal, a runner-up last year. Despite another strong World Cup showing, Lionel Messi appears on the list but likely won’t claim a ninth trophy following Argentina's final defeat.

Men's Ballon d'Or Nominees

• Jude Bellingham: Real Madrid / England (4 nominations)
• Pau Cubarsi: Barcelona / Spain (1)
• Marc Cucurella: Chelsea/Real Madrid / Spain (1)
• Ousmane Dembele: Paris Saint-Germain / France (2)
• Luis Diaz: Bayern Munich / Colombia (2)
• Bruno Fernandes: Manchester United / Portugal (2)
• Erling Haaland: Manchester City / Norway (6)
• Gabriel: Arsenal / Brazil (1)
• Harry Kane: Bayern Munich / England (8)
• Achraf Hakimi: Paris Saint-Germain / Morocco (2)
• Lamine Yamal: Barcelona / Spain (3)
• Khvicha Kvaratskhelia: Paris Saint-Germain / Georgia (3)
• Marquinhos: Paris Saint-Germain / Brazil (2)
• Sadio Mane: Al Nassr / Senegal (5)
• Lisandro Martinez: Inter Milan / Argentina (5)
• Kylian Mbappe: Real Madrid / France (9)
• Nuno Mendes: Paris Saint-Germain / Portugal (2)
• Lionel Messi: Inter Miami / Argentina (17)
• Michael Olise: Bayern Munich / France (2)
• Joao Neves: Paris Saint-Germain / Portugal (2)
• William Pacho: Paris Saint-Germain / Ecuador (1)
• Julian Quinones: Al-Qadsiah / Mexico (1)
• Declan Rice: Arsenal / England (3)
• Rodri: Man City/Barcelona / Spain (3)
• Fabian Ruiz: Paris Saint-Germain / Spain (2)
• Ferran Torres: Barcelona/PSG / Spain (1)
• William Saliba: Arsenal / France (2)
• Dayot Upamecano: Bayern Munich / France (1)
• Vinicius Junior: Real Madrid / Brazil (5)
• Vitinha: Paris Saint-Germain / Portugal (3)

Women's Ballon d'Or Nominees

• Selma Bacha: OL Lyonnes / France (2)
• Barbra Banda: Orlando Pride / Zambia (3)
• Klara Buhl: Bayern Munich / Germany (2)
• Esmee Brugts: Barcelona / Netherlands (1)
• Mariona Caldentey: Arsenal / Spain (3)
• Scarlett Camberos: Club America / Mexico (1)
• Kerstin Casparij: Manchester City / Netherlands (1)
• Temwa Chawinga: Kansas City Current / Malawi (2)
• Cata Coll: Barcelona / Spain (1)
• Melchie Dumornay: OL Lyonnes / Haiti (2)
• Caroline Graham Hansen: Barcelona / Norway (3)
• Alex Greenwood: Manchester City / England (1)
• Patri Guijarro: Barcelona / Spain (4)
• Pernille Harder: Bayern Munich / Denmark (5)
• Yui Hasegawa: Manchester City / Japan (3)
• Rose Lavelle: Gotham City / USWNT (2)
• Mapi Leon: Barcelona/London City Lionesses / Spain (2)
• Lorena: Kanas City Current / Brazil (1)
• Melvine Malard: Manchester United/Chelsea / France (1)
• Manaka Matsukubo: North Carolina Courage/Chelsea / Japan (1)
• Ewa Pajor: Barcelona / Poland (4)
• Vivianne Miedema: Manchester City / Netherlands (4)
• Claudia Pina: Barcelona / Spain (2)
• Alexia Putellas: Barcelona/London City Lionesses (5)
• Alessia Russo: Arsenal / England (2)
• Momoko Tanikawa: Bayern Munich / Japan (1)
• Wendie Renard: OL Lyonnes / France (6)
• Khadija Shaw: Manchester City / Jamaica (3)
• Caroline Weir: Real Madrid/OL Lyonnes / Scotland (2)
• Tessa Wullaert: Inter Milan/Como / Belgium (1)

Men's Young Talent of the Year Nominees

• Kerim Alajbegovic (Salzburg/Juventus / Bosnia and Herzegovina)
• Ayyoub Bouaddi (Lille/Manchester City / Morocco)
• Pau Cubarsi (Barcelona / Spain)
• Yan Diomande (RB Leipzig/Real Madrid / Ivory Coast)
• Lennart Karl (Bayern Munich / Germany)
• Eli Junior Kroupi (Bournemouth)
• Lamine Yamal (Barcelona / Spain)
• Johan Manzambi (Freiburg/Aston Villa / Switzerland)
• Ibrahim Maza (Bayer Leverkusen / Algeria)
• Warren Zaire-Emery (Paris Saint-Germain / France)

Women's Young Talent of the Year Nominees

• Veerle Buurman (Chelsea / Netherlands)
• Vicky Lopez (Barcelona Femeni / Spain)
• Felicia Schroder (BK Hacken/Real Madrid / Sweden)
• Clara Serrajordi (Barcelona Femeni / Spain)
• Lily Yohannes (OL Lyonnes / USWNT)

Women's Coach of the Year Nominees

• Jonatan Giraldez (OL Lyonnes)
• Andree Jeglertz (Manchester City)
• Nils Nielsen (Japan)*
• Pere Romeu (Barcelona Femeni)
• Elena Sadiku (Celtic/BK Hacken)

*Nils Nielsen left the Japan national team in April 2026 after his contract expired.

Men's Coach of the Year Nominees

• Mikel Arteta (Arsenal)
• Luis de la Fuente (Spain)
• Unai Emery (Aston Villa)
• Vincent Kompany (Bayern Munich)
• Luis Enrique (Paris Saint-Germain)

Women's Goalkeeper of the Year Nominees

• Ann-Katrin Berger (Gotham FC / Germany)
• Cata Coll (Barcelona Femeni / Spain)
• Hannah Hampton (Chelsea / England)
• Lorena (Kansas City Current / Brazil)
• Ayaka Yamashita (Manchester City / Japan)

Men's Goalkeeper of the Year Nominees (Yashin Trophy)

• Yassine Bounou (Al Hilal / Morocco)
• Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid / Belgium)
• Gregor Kobel (Borussia Dortmund / Switzerland)
• Joan Garcia (Barcelona / Spain)
• Edouard Mendy (Al Ahli / Senegal)
• Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa/Chelsea / Senegal)
• David Raya (Arsenal / Spain)
• Vozinha (Colo Colo / Cape Verde)
• Unai Simon (Athletic Club / Spain)
• Matvey Safonov (Paris Saint-Germain / Russia)

Women's Club of the Year Nominees

• Barcelona Femeni
• Bayern Munich
• Club America Femenil
• Manchester City
• OL Lyonnes

Men's Club of the Year Nominees

• Arsenal
• Bayern Munich
• Bodo/Glimt
• Flamengo
• Paris Saint-Germain

Details on the 2026 Ballon d'Or Ceremony

The 2026 Ballon d'Or ceremony will take place on Monday, October 26. Unlike previous years usually held in Paris, this edition moves to London to honor Sir Stanley Matthews, the first-ever recipient of the award 70 years ago.

How the Winner is Chosen

France Football assembles a panel of international journalists to select the finalists and winners. Voting includes media representatives from the top 100 FIFA men's ranked countries and the top 50 FIFA women's ranked nations.

Voters rank their choices from the finalist lists, assigning points based on their preferences. The player with the highest total points wins the Ballon d'Or.

The criteria focus on three factors from the previous season:

• Individual performance
• Team success
• Player conduct and fair play

The award has evolved from recognizing only European players to accepting candidates worldwide since 2007. The voting system was updated in 2022 to concentrate on recent performances instead of career achievements, avoiding bias seen in prior votes.