The nominees for the 2026 Ballon d'Or were revealed Tuesday. The shortlists for the men's and women's awards feature 30 players each.
Spanish World Cup winners Rodri and Lamine Yamal headline the contenders for the men's honor, though Kylian Mbappe is a strong candidate after his record-breaking performance at the 2026 World Cup for France.
England striker Harry Kane is also in contention after his prolific scoring season with Bayern Munich, while eight-time Ballon d'Or winner Lionel Messi is back on the shortlist this year after missing out in 2025.
On the women's side, Spanish star Aitana Bonmati wasn't nominated after an injury-marred year, ending her run of three consecutive triumphs and ensuring there will be a different winner for the first time since 2022. Alexia Putellas, her compatriot and former Barcelona teammate, is a strong contender to take home the award for the third time in her glittering career.
This year's Ballon d'Or ceremony will take place in London on Monday, Oct. 26, when the award winners will be crowned.
2026 Men's Ballon d'Or nominees
| Player | Club |
|---|---|
| Jude Bellingham ๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ | Real Madrid |
| Pau Cubarsi ๐ช๐ธ | Barcelona |
| Marc Cucurella ๐ช๐ธ | Real Madrid |
| Ousmane Dembele ๐ซ๐ท | PSG |
| Luis Diaz ๐จ๐ด | Bayern Munich |
| Bruno Fernandes ๐ต๐น | Manchester United |
| Gabriel ๐ง๐ท | Arsenal |
| Erling Haaland ๐ณ๐ด | Manchester City |
| Achraf Hakimi ๐ฒ๐ฆ | PSG |
| Harry Kane ๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ | Bayern Munich |
| Khvicha Kvaratskhelia ๐ฌ๐ช | PSG |
| Lamine Yamal ๐ช๐ธ | Barcelona |
| Sadio Mane ๐ธ๐ณ | Al-Nassr |
| Marquinhos ๐ง๐ท | PSG |
| Lautaro Martinez ๐ฆ๐ท | Inter Milan |
| Kylian Mbappe ๐ซ๐ท | Real Madrid |
| Nuno Mendes ๐ต๐น | PSG |
| Lionel Messi ๐ฆ๐ท | Inter Miami |
| Joao Neves ๐ต๐น | PSG |
| Michael Olise ๐ซ๐ท | Bayern Munich |
| Willian Pacho ๐ช๐จ | PSG |
| Julian Quinones ๐ฒ๐ฝ | Al-Qadsiah |
| Declan Rice ๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ | Arsenal |
| Rodri ๐ช๐ธ | Barcelona |
| Fabian Ruiz ๐ช๐ธ | PSG |
| William Saliba ๐ซ๐ท | Arsenal |
| Ferran Torres ๐ช๐ธ | PSG |
| Dayot Upamecano ๐ซ๐ท | Bayern Munich |
| Vinicius Junior ๐ง๐ท | Real Madrid |
| Vitinha ๐ต๐น | PSG |
2026 Women's Ballon d'Or nominees
| Player | Club |
|---|---|
| Selma Bacha ๐ซ๐ท | OL Lyonnes |
| Barbra Banda ๐ฟ๐ฒ | Orlando Pride |
| Esmee Brugts ๐ณ๐ฑ | Barcelona |
| Klara Buhl ๐ฉ๐ช | Bayern Munich |
| Mariona Caldentey ๐ช๐ธ | Arsenal |
| Scarlett Camberos ๐ฒ๐ฝ | Club America |
| Kerstin Casparij ๐ณ๐ฑ | Manchester City |
| Temwa Chawinga ๐ฒ๐ผ | Kansas City Current |
| Cata Coll ๐ช๐ธ | Barcelona |
| Melchie Dumornay ๐ญ๐น | OL Lyonnes |
| Alex Greenwood ๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ | Manchester City |
| Patri Guijarroย ๐ช๐ธ | Barcelona |
| Caroline Graham Hansen ๐ณ๐ด | Barcelona |
| Pernille Harder ๐ฉ๐ฐ | Bayern Munich |
| Yui Hasegawa ๐ฏ๐ต | Manchester City |
| Rose Lavelle ๐บ๐ธ | Gotham FC |
| Mapi Leon ๐ช๐ธ | London City Lionesses |
| Lorena ๐ง๐ท | Kansas City Current |
| Melvine Malard ๐ซ๐ท | Chelsea |
| Manaka Matsukubo ๐ฏ๐ต | Chelsea |
| Vivianne Miedema ๐ณ๐ฑ | Manchester City |
| Ewa Pajor ๐ต๐ฑ | Barcelona |
| Claudia Pina ๐ช๐ธ | Barcelona |
| Alexia Putellas ๐ช๐ธ | London City Lionesses |
| Wendie Renard ๐ซ๐ท | OL Lyonnes |
| Alessia Russo ๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ | Arsenal |
| Khadija Shaw ๐ฏ๐ฒ | Manchester City |
| Momoko Tanikawa ๐ฏ๐ต | Bayern Munich |
| Caroline Weir ๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ณ๓ ฃ๓ ด๓ ฟ | OL Lyonnes |
| Tessa Wullaert ๐ง๐ช | Como |
