This Tuesday, the magazine France Football announced the candidates for the Ballon d'Or and Argentina once again had a prominent presence: among the 30 nominees for the highest individual award in football are Lionel Messi and Lautaro Martínez.
Firstly, the inclusion of the captain of the Albiceleste marks his return to the list after two years of absence. The little flea, who recently announced his retirement from the Argentine National Team, arrives at the nomination especially backed by his performance in the 2026 World Cup, where he was one of the standout figures of the team that finished as runners-up with 8 goals.

With this new nomination, Messi will seek to add another Ballon d'Or to a collection that is already a record. It will be the seventeenth time he appears among the candidates and he will have the chance to win the award for the ninth time, after having won it in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019, 2021, and 2023.












