LONDON / RankWire.AI / – Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappé, Lamine Yamal and Erling Haaland lead the 30-player shortlist for the 2026 Ballon d’Or. Organizers released the nominees on September 8 ahead of the October 26 ceremony in London. Ousmane Dembélé, Rodri and Vinícius Júnior also appear on the list. Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham and Achraf Hakimi add further star power to the field. The London Palladium will host the event during the award’s 70th anniversary year.
Ballon d’Or 2026 nominees prepare for football’s 70th awards ceremony in London. (AI-generated image)
The shortlist includes players from leading clubs across Europe and other major competitions. Paris Saint-Germain has one of the strongest contingents in the men’s field. Its nominees include Dembélé, Hakimi, Marquinhos, Nuno Mendes, João Neves, Fabián Ruiz, Vitinha and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. Bruno Fernandes, Declan Rice, Michael Olise, Lautaro Martínez and Sadio Mané also earned places. France Football administers the Ballon d’Or and applies a season-based assessment period to each edition.
Messi returns to the Ballon d’Or shortlist after missing the nominee lists in 2024 and 2025. The Argentina international owns a record eight men’s Ballon d’Or titles. He last won the award in 2023. Cristiano Ronaldo remains absent from the shortlist for a fourth consecutive edition. Brazilian forward Raphinha also does not feature among the 2026 candidates. Dembélé enters this year’s contest as the defending men’s winner after claiming the 2025 Ballon d’Or.
Season-based criteria define the 2026 vote
The 2026 assessment window runs from August 3, 2025, through July 19, 2026. It covers domestic leagues, continental club competitions and major international tournaments held during that period. The men’s evaluation includes the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the Africa Cup of Nations. Individual performance ranks first among the official criteria. Collective achievements and titles rank second. Class and fair play form the third factor used to evaluate players across the men’s and women’s awards.
A global panel of journalists determines the Ballon d’Or winners through a points-based vote. The men’s jury includes one representative from each of FIFA’s top 100 ranked nations. The women’s jury uses voters from the top 50 nations. Each journalist ranks 10 players from the relevant 30-name shortlist. A first-place vote carries 15 points, while tenth place receives one point. UEFA also participates in organizing the awards programme, which includes several additional individual and team honors.
London takes center stage for 70th edition
The 2026 programme will recognize leading goalkeepers, young players, coaches and clubs in men’s and women’s football. Separate striker awards and the Sócrates Award also form part of the ceremony. London will stage the Ballon d’Or event for the first time in its history. The location carries added significance in the award’s 70th year. England international Stanley Matthews won the inaugural Ballon d’Or in 1956, establishing a competition that has since become a major annual football honor.
The London Palladium will host the winners and nominees when the trophies are presented on October 26. The men’s field brings together Messi, Mbappé, Yamal, Haaland, Dembélé and other prominent players from world football. The women’s Ballon d’Or also features a 30-player shortlist. Dembélé and Aitana Bonmatí enter the ceremony as the reigning men’s and women’s winners from 2025. The 2026 results will conclude voting based on performances recorded across the official 2025-26 reference period.