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

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Ballon d'Or 2026 nominees list: Updated shortlist of players announced as soccer award contenders originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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.

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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 as well. 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

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)

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.

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)

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)

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)

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
  • FC Bayern Frauen
  • Club America Femenil
  • Manchester City
  • OL Lyonnes

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:

  1. Individual performance in previous season (no longer by calendar year);
  2. Team success during the previous season;
  3. Player behavior and fair play during the season in consideration.

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