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Ballon d'Or 2026 nominees list: Updated shortlist of players announced as soccer award contenders

Nairavoice · Sep 8, 2026 · 8 min read

Ballon d’Or 2026 nominees list: Updated shortlist of players announced as soccer award contenders originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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The Ballon d’Or is considered the most prestigious individual award in soccer, and the 2026 gala is fast approaching as we will soon learn the latest player to be enshrined into global greatness.

Last year’s men’s winner Ousmane Dembele could be up for another triumph, but in all likelihood, a new winner is expected to be crowned.

Rodri, the 2024 winner, put himself back up for the award with a stunning run to a World Cup title this summer, while Harry Kane, Lamine Yamal, and Michael Olise are considered contenders.

Lionel Messi would have potentially been a candidate and is likely to be included on the list thanks to another World Cup full of heroics, but defeat in the final probably ended any chance of lifting a record-extending ninth trophy.

The Sporting News brings you a look at who has been nominated for this year’s award, as the list of players from which the winner will be selected has been revealed.

MORE:Who should win the 2026 Ballon d’Or? Check out the power rankings

Ballon d’Or 2026 nominees list

The nominees up for the 2026 Ballon d’Or and associated awards will be announced by France Football on Tuesday, September 8, between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. CET (5 a.m. and 10 a.m. ET).

For the top men’s prize, a 30-player shortlist will be revealed, from which the winner will eventually be selected.

Below are the nominees for each award, as revealed by organisers.

The teams represented by players and coaches are noted as club team / national team. Where two club teams are separated by /, it denotes that a player or coach changed clubs in the past year.

MORE:All the other awards at the Ballon d’Or ceremony and the winners are chosen

Ballon d’Or

The men’s Ballon d’Or nominees for 2026 are as follows:

PlayerTeam(s)Career nominationsJude BellinghamReal Madrid / England4Pau CubarsiBarcelona / Spain1Marc CucurellaChelsea / Real Madrid / Spain1Ousmane DembeleParis Saint-Germain / France2Luis DiazBayern Munich / Colombia2Bruno FernandesManchester United / Portugal2Erling HaalandManchester City / Norway6GabrielArsenal / Brazil1Harry KaneBayern Munich / England8Achraf HakimiParis Saint-Germain / Morocco2Lamine Yamal Barcelona / Spain3Khvicha KvaratskheliaParis Saint-Germain / Georgia3MarquinhosParis Saint-Germain / Brazil2Sadio ManeAl Nassr / Senegal5Lisandro MartinezInter Milan / Argentina5Kylian MbappeReal Madrid / France 9Nuno MendesParis Saint-Germain / Portugal2Lionel MessiInter Miami / Argentina17Michael OliseBayern Munich / France2Joao Neves Paris Saint-Germain / Portugal2William PachoParis Saint-Germain / Ecuador1Julian QuinonesAl-Qadsiah / Mexico1

Ballon d’Or Feminin

The women’s Ballon d’Or nominees for 2026 are as follows:

PlayerTeam(s)Career nominationsSelma BachaOL Lyonnes / France2Barbra BandaOrlando Pride / Zambia3Klara BuhlBayern Munich / Germany2Esmee BrugtsBarcelona / Netherlands1Mariona CaldenteyArsenal / Spain3Scarlett CamberosClub America / Mexico1Kerstin CasparijManchester City / Netherlands1Temwa ChawingaKansas City Current / Malawi2Cata CollBarcelona / Spain1Melchie DumornayOL Lyonnes / Haiti2Caroline Graham HansenBarcelona / Norway3Alex GreenwoodManchester City / England1Patri GuijarroBarcelona / Spain4Pernille HarderBayern Munich / Denmark5Yui HasegawaManchester City / Japan3Rose LavelleGotham City / USWNT2Mapi LeonBarcelona/London City Lionesses / Spain2LorenaKanas City Current / Brazil1Melvine MalardManchester United/Chelsea / France1Manaka MatsukuboNorth Carolina Courage/Chelsea / Japan1Ewa PajorBarcelona / Poland4Vivianne MiedemaManchester City / Netherlands4Claudia PinaBarcelona / Spain2Alexia PutellasBarcelona/London City Lionesses5Alessia RussoArsenal / England2Momoko TanikawaBayern Munich / Japan1Wendie RenardOL Lyonnes / France6Khadija ShawManchester City / Jamaica3Caroline WeirReal Madrid/OL Lyonnes / Scotland2Tessa WullaertInter Milan/Como / Belgium1

Men’s Young Talent Of The Year

Here are the nominees for the best young male player across the globe over the past season:

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)

Nominated for the 2026 Men’s Young Talent of the Year ⬇️

🇧🇦 Kerim Alajbegović
🇲🇦 Ayyoub Bouaddi
🇪🇸 Pau Cubarsí
🇨🇮 Yan Diomandé
🇩🇪 Lennart Karl
🇫🇷 Éli Junior Kroupi
🇪🇸 Lamine Yamal
🇨🇭 Johan Manzambi
🇩🇿 Ibrahim Maza
🇫🇷 Warren Zaïre-Emery #ballondor pic.twitter.com/HXGinSnxPN

— Ballon d’Or (@ballondor) September 8, 2026

Women’s Young Talent Of The Year

The nominees for the best young female player in the world are as follows:

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

The five nominees for the best coach of the year in the women’s game are:

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

*Nielsen left the role when his contract expired in April 2026.

Nominated for the 2026 Women’s Coach of the Year ⬇️

Jonatan Giráldez – OL Lyonnes
Andrée Jeglertz – Manchester City
Nils Nielsen – Japan national team
Pere Romeu – FC Barcelona
Elena Sadiku – Celtic/BK Häcken pic.twitter.com/RkviTlGEh7

— Ballon d’Or (@ballondor) September 8, 2026

Men’s Coach Of The Year

The five nominees for the best coach of the year in men’s soccer are:

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

Nominated for the 2026 Men’s Coach of the Year ⬇️

Mikel Arteta – Arsenal
Luis de la Fuente – Spain national team
Unai Emery – Aston Villa
Vincent Kompany – Bayern Munich
Luis Enrique – Paris-SG pic.twitter.com/R6QOpW9j9l

— Ballon d’Or (@ballondor) September 8, 2026

Women’s Goalkeeper Of The Year

The prize for the best goalkeeper in the women’s game will be won by one of these 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)

Nominated for the 2026 Women’s Goalkeeper of the Year ⬇️

🇩🇪 Ann-Katrin Berger
🇪🇸 Cata Coll
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Hannah Hampton
🇧🇷 Lorena
🇯🇵 Ayaka Yamashita#ballondor pic.twitter.com/awJOGaOoLG

— Ballon d’Or (@ballondor) September 8, 2026

Men’s Goalkeeper Of The Year

This year’s Yashin Trophy will be won by one of these 10 nominees:

Yassine Bonou (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)

Nominated for the 2026 Men’s Goalkeeper of the Year ⬇️

🇲🇦 Yassine Bounou
🇧🇪 Thibaut Courtois
🇪🇸 Joan García
🇨🇭 Gregor Kobel
🇦🇷 Emiliano Martínez
🇸🇳 Édouard Mendy
🇪🇸 David Raya
🇷🇺 Matvey Safonov
🇪🇸 Unai Simón
🇨🇻 Vozinha#ballondor pic.twitter.com/WFvHYOqC5q

— Ballon d’Or (@ballondor) September 8, 2026

Women’s Club Of The Year

The nominees for Women’s Club Of The Year were the first to be announced. They are:

Barcelona Femeni
Bayern Munich
Club America Femenil
Manchester City
OL Lyonnes

Here are the Women’s Club of the Year nominees!#ballondor pic.twitter.com/TcDh7FAwk3

— Ballon d’Or (@ballondor) September 8, 2026

Men’s Club Of The Year

This was the second group of nominees to be announced. The five clubs up for the award are:

Arsenal
Bayern Munich
Bodo/Glimt
Flamengo
Paris Saint-Germain

When is the 2026 Ballon d’Or award ceremony?

The 2026 Ballon d’Or will be awarded at a ceremony on Monday, October 26.

While the ceremony is usually held in Paris, France, the gala for the 70th edition of the men’s trophy will be held this time in London, England. This is to honor inaugural winner, Sir Stanley Matthews, who was presented with the first trophy 70 years ago.

MORE:How the Ballon d’Or vote works and who gets to decide the winner

How is the Ballon d’Or winner decided?

A panel of international journalists compiled by France Football comes up with the 30 finalists for the men’s Ballon d’Or and the Yashin Award shortlist for the world’s best goalkeeper.

The voting process for the final award was revised in 2022 to involve a media member from each of the top 100 nations in the FIFA men’s world ranking (for the men’s Ballon d’Or voting) and from the top 50 nations in the FIFA women’s world ranking (for the women’s Ballon d’Or vote).

The media members vote by selecting names from the list of finalists, and they rank their selections. Each vote is weighted with different point totals assigned based on the specific ranking of the player on the ballot. After all the votes are tallied, the player with the most points is awarded the Ballon d’Or.

While the award was initially limited to recognizing the best European player on the continent, in 1995 organizers opened it up to non-Europeans plying their trade in Europe to also be considered. In 2007, the award was expanded further so any player across the world could be eligible whether or not they played in Europe.

Alongside the change in timeline, voter base and player eligibility, the voting criteria was also updated in 2022 to eliminate consideration for overall career performance, which potentially skewed the 2021 vote in favor of Messi, and instead focus on three main factors: