​Ballon d’Or 2026 nominees list: Shortlist of players announced as PSG dominates soccer award nominations originally appeared on The Sporting News.
Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.The Ballon d’Or is considered the most prestigious individual award in soccer, and the 2026 gala is fast approaching.On Tuesday (September 8), France Football revealed its 30-man shortlist for the award. Last year’s men’s winner Ousmane Dembele is in contention once again, but a new winner is expected to be crowned.LIVE:Ballon d’Or 2026 updates as winners and final awards results are announcedSpain predictably led the way in terms of national teams with six nominations, including 2024 winner and World Cup Golden Ball recipient Rodri. After leaving Manchester City, the midfielder is now a teammate of Lamine Yamal, who is in the mix once more after finishing as runner-up to Dembele last season.Lionel Messi is included on the list thanks to another World Cup full of heroics, but defeat in the final probably ended any chance of lifting a record-extending ninth trophy.The Sporting News brings you a look at who has been nominated for this year’s award, along with the 30 players in contention for the Ballon d’Or Feminin.MORE:Who should win the 2026 Ballon d’Or? Check out the power rankingsBallon d’Or 2026 nominees listThe nominees up for the 2026 Ballon d’Or and associated awards were announced by France Football on Tuesday, September 8.For the top men’s prize, a 30-player shortlist was revealed, from which the winner will eventually be selected.Below are the nominees for each award, as revealed by organisers.The teams represented by players and coaches are noted as club team / national team. Where two club teams are separated by /, it denotes that a player or coach changed clubs in the past year.MORE:All the other awards at the Ballon d’Or ceremony and the winners are chosenBallon d’Or nominees listThe men’s Ballon d’Or nominees for 2026 are as follows:PlayerTeam(s)Career nominationsJude BellinghamReal Madrid / England4Pau CubarsiBarcelona / Spain1Marc CucurellaChelsea/Real Madrid / Spain1Ousmane DembeleParis Saint-Germain / France2Luis DiazBayern Munich / Colombia2Bruno FernandesManchester United / Portugal2Erling HaalandManchester City / Norway6GabrielArsenal / Brazil1Harry KaneBayern Munich / England8Achraf HakimiParis Saint-Germain / Morocco2Lamine Yamal Barcelona / Spain3Khvicha KvaratskheliaParis Saint-Germain / Georgia3MarquinhosParis Saint-Germain / Brazil2Sadio ManeAl Nassr / Senegal5Lisandro MartinezInter Milan / Argentina5Kylian MbappeReal Madrid / France 9Nuno MendesParis Saint-Germain / Portugal2Lionel MessiInter Miami / Argentina17Michael OliseBayern Munich / France2Joao Neves Paris Saint-Germain / Portugal2William PachoParis Saint-Germain / Ecuador1Julian QuinonesAl-Qadsiah / Mexico1Declan RiceArsenal / England3Rodri Man City/Barcelona / Spain3Fabian RuizParis Saint-Germain / Spain2Ferran TorresBarcelona/PSG / Sp