Harry Kane, Lamine Yamal, Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi are among the 30 players nominated for the 2026 men’s Ballon d’Or, with the race for football’s most prestigious individual award officially underway.
The nominees were unveiled on Tuesday, with several of the biggest names in world football making the shortlist following their performances during the 2025/26 season.
The winner of the award will be announced at a ceremony in London on October 26.
Mbappe, Yamal, Kane and Messi headline a star-studded list that also includes Jude Bellingham, Erling Haaland, Vinicius Junior, Ousmane Dembele, Bruno Fernandes, Luis Diaz and Sadio Mane.
Other notable nominees are Rodri, Declan Rice, Lautaro Martinez, Achraf Hakimi, Nuno Mendes, Vitinha, William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes.
The Ballon d’Or is awarded annually to the player judged to have produced the outstanding individual performance over the preceding season.
The women’s category also has 30 nominees, including Barcelona stars Alexia Putellas, Caroline Graham Hansen, Patri Guijarro and Ewa Pajor, as well as Arsenal forward Alessia Russo and Manchester City’s Khadija Shaw.
Zambian forward Barbra Banda, Temwa Chawinga, Rose Lavelle, Vivianne Miedema and Wendie Renard are among the other leading names on the women’s shortlist.
Meanwhile, Yamal is also nominated for the Men’s Young Talent of the Year award alongside Pau Cubarsi, Ayyoub Bouaddi, Warren Zaire-Emery and six other players.
The Women’s Young Talent of the Year category has five nominees, including Vicky Lopez and Lily Yohannes.
The nominees for the Men’s Goalkeeper of the Year award include Thibaut Courtois, Emiliano Martinez, David Raya, Yassine Bounou and Unai Simon, while Cata Coll, Hannah Hampton and Ayaka Yamashita are among the five contenders in the women’s category.
For the Men’s Coach of the Year award, Mikel Arteta, Luis de la Fuente, Unai Emery, Vincent Kompany and Luis Enrique have been shortlisted.
The five nominees for the Women’s Coach of the Year award are Jonatan Giraldez, Andree Jeglertz, Nils Nielsen, Pere Romeu and Elena Sadiku.
In the club categories, Arsenal, Bayern Munich, Bodo/Glimt, Flamengo and Paris Saint-Germain are in contention for the Men’s Club of the Year award.
Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Club America, Manchester City and OL Lyonnes are the nominees for the Women’s Club of the Year award.
All eyes will now turn to London, where the winners of the various categories will be crowned on October 26.
