This Tuesday, September 8, just over a month and a half before the award ceremony, the nominees for the Ballon d'Or 2026 were announced. As happens every year, there will be expected names and also possible surprises among the candidates.
The most important trophy in the world, like the other individual awards, recognizes the performance of players throughout the last season. That is, the magazine France Football, organizer of the award, takes into account the period from August 1, 2025 to July 31, 2026, meaning it includes up to the 2026 World Cup.
To find out who will succeed Ousmane Dembélé, the winner of the 2025 edition, and the rest of the winners, we will have to wait until Monday, October 26, when the award ceremony will take place at the The London Palladium in London, England. Therefore, there will be almost seven weeks of speculation regarding who will take home this year's BdO.
In this edition, Argentina will have three representatives among the various individual awards. Lionel Messi (Inter Miami) and Lautaro Martínez (Inter Milan) are nominated for the Men's Ballon d'Or, while Emiliano "Dibu" Martínez (Aston Villa - Chelsea) is among the candidates for the Yashin Trophy, which recognizes the best goalkeeper of the year.
The 30 nominees for the Men's Ballon d'Or

Jude Bellingham (England / Real Madrid)
Pau Cubarsí (Spain / Barcelona)
Marc Cucurella (Spain / Chelsea - Real Madrid)
Ousmane Dembélé (France / Paris Saint-Germain)
Luis Díaz (Colombia / Bayern Munich)
Bruno Fernandes (Portugal / Manchester United)
Gabriel Magalhães (Brazil / Arsenal)
Erling Haaland (Norway / Manchester City)
Achraf Hakimi (Morocco / Paris Saint-Germain)
Harry Kane (England / Bayern Munich)
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (Georgia / Paris Saint-Germain)
Lamine Yamal (Spain / Barcelona)
Sadio Mané (Senegal / Al-Nassr)
Marquinhos (Brazil / Paris Saint-Germain)
Lautaro Martínez (Argentina / Inter Milan)
Kylian Mbappé (France / Real Madrid)
Nuno Mendes (Portugal / Paris Saint-Germain)
Lionel Messi (Argentina / Inter Miami)
João Neves (Portugal / Paris Saint-Germain)
Michael Olise (France / Bayern Munich)
William Pacho (Ecuador / Paris Saint-Germain)
Julián Quiñones (Mexico / Al-Qadsiah)
Declan Rice (England / Arsenal)
Rodri (Spain / Manchester City - Barcelona)
Fabián Ruiz (Spain / Paris Saint-Germain)
William Saliba (France / Arsenal)
Ferran Torres (Spain / Barcelona - Paris Saint-Germain)
Dayot Upamecano (France / Bayern Munich)
Vinícius Júnior (Brazil / Real Madrid)
Vitinha (Portugal / Paris Saint-Germain)
The 30 nominees for the Women's Ballon d'Or

Selma Bacha (France / Olympique Lyon)
Barbra Banda (Zambia / Orlando Pride)
Klara Bühl (Germany / Bayern Munich)
Esmee Brugts (Netherlands / Barcelona)
Mariona Caldentey (Spain / Arsenal)
Scarlett Camberos (Mexico / Club América)
Kerstin Casparij (Netherlands / Manchester City)
Temwa Chawinga (Malawi / Kansas City Current)
Cata Coll (Spain / Barcelona)
Melchie Dumornay (Haiti / Olympique Lyon)
Caroline Graham Hansen (Norway / Barcelona)
Alex Greenwood (England / Manchester City)
Patri Guijarro (Spain / Barcelona)
Pernille Harder (Denmark / Bayern Munich)
Yui Hasegawa (Japan / Manchester City)
Rose Lavelle (United States / Gotham FC)
Mapi León (Spain / Barcelona - London City Lionesses)
Lorena (Brazil / Kansas City Current)
Melvine Malard (France / Manchester United - Chelsea)
Manaka Matsukubo (Japan / North Carolina Courage - Chelsea)
Vivianne Miedema (Netherlands / Manchester City)
Ewa Pajor (Poland / Barcelona)
Claudia Pina (Spain / Barcelona)

















