2026 Ballon d’Or Nominees Announced: Mbappé, Messi, and More

The race for the 2026 Ballon d’Or is officially on – and this time, football’s biggest individual prize will be handed out under the London lights.

French magazine France Football, together with UEFA, released the full list of nominees on Tuesday evening, confirming the 30 players who will contest the sport’s most coveted personal award. The winner will be crowned on 26 October, when the ceremony heads to London for the first time in the award’s history.

That night will also decide the rest of the Ballon d’Or honours: the Yashin Trophy for best goalkeeper, the Kopa Trophy for best young player, and awards for best coach, best club and more. But everything circles back to the main trophy – and the names chasing it.

Mbappé, Messi, Rodri headline stacked field

The shortlist is loaded with stars who dominated last season for club or at the 2026 World Cup.

Kylian Mbappé, now the face of Real Madrid and still the talisman for France, once again stands front and centre. Lionel Messi, captain of Inter Miami and Argentina, returns to the list as he stretches an already unprecedented Ballon d’Or legacy into yet another year. Rodri, the metronome of Spain’s midfield, is nominated after his switch from Manchester City to Barcelona, a move that has not dimmed his influence.

The list underlines a shift in power as well. Players from world champions Spain and European champions Paris Saint-Germain appear all over the ballot, reflecting their dominance across the past year.

Lamine Yamal, the Barcelona and Spain sensation, continues his rapid rise by breaking into the main Ballon d’Or discussion, while Fabián Ruiz rides a historic campaign in which he lifted both the Champions League and the World Cup with Paris Saint-Germain and La Roja. Defending Ballon d’Or holder Ousmane Dembélé, still a key figure for PSG and France, is back to protect his crown.

Saudi league presence and notable omissions

The Saudi Roshn Pro League also muscles into the frame. Sadio Mané, Al-Nassr’s Senegalese star, earns a place among the elite, joined by Julián Quiñones, the prolific Mexican forward leading the line for Al-Qadsiah. Their inclusion underlines Saudi Arabia’s growing pull at the top end of the game.

Yet the list is just as striking for who is missing.

Cristiano Ronaldo, captain of Al-Nassr and Portugal, does not make the cut, a sharp contrast to his long-running presence in the Ballon d’Or conversation. Mohamed Salah, the former Liverpool forward now at Trabzon and still the standard-bearer for Egypt, is also absent.

Barcelona and Brazil winger Raphinha misses out, as does Pedri, the Barcelona and Spain midfielder who had previously been tipped as a long-term fixture in these debates. Their omissions hint at a changing of the guard as a new generation pushes through.

Full list of 2026 Ballon d’Or nominees

• Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid, England)
• Pau Cubarsí (Barcelona, Spain)
• Marc Cucurella (Chelsea, Spain)
• Ousmane Dembélé (Paris Saint-Germain, France)
• Luis Díaz (Bayern Munich, Colombia)
• Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United, Portugal)
• Gabriel (Arsenal, Brazil)
• Erling Haaland (Manchester City, Norway)
• Achraf Hakimi (Paris Saint-Germain, Morocco)
• Harry Kane (Bayern Munich, England)
• Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (Paris Saint-Germain, Georgia)
• Lamine Yamal (Barcelona, Spain)
• Sadio Mané (Al-Nassr, Senegal)
• Marquinhos (Paris Saint-Germain, Brazil)
• Lautaro Martínez (Inter Milan, Argentina)
• Kylian Mbappé (Real Madrid, France)
• Nuno Mendes (Paris Saint-Germain, Portugal)
• Lionel Messi (Inter Miami, Argentina)
• João Neves (Paris Saint-Germain, Portugal)
• Michael Olise (Bayern Munich, France)
• Willian Pacho (Paris Saint-Germain, Ecuador)
• Julián Quiñones (Al-Qadsiah, Mexico)
• Declan Rice (Arsenal, England)
• Rodri (Manchester City, Spain)
• Fabián Ruiz (Paris Saint-Germain, Spain)
• William Saliba (Arsenal, France)
• Ferran Torres (Barcelona, Spain)
• Dayot Upamecano (Bayern Munich, France)
• Vinícius Júnior (Real Madrid, Brazil)
• Vitinha (Paris Saint-Germain, Portugal)

The stage is set, the cast is chosen. On 26 October in London, only one of them will walk away with football’s ultimate individual prize.