Official: The 30 nominees for the 2026 Ballon d'Or are known
The biggest individual race of the football year finally has its complete field of contenders.
Details: The Ballon d'Or organisers have officially unveiled the 30-player shortlist for the 2026 men's award, bringing together some of the biggest stars in world football.
The shortlist includes reigning Ballon d'Or holder Ousmane Dembélé, eight-time winner Lionel Messi and 2024 winner Rodri, while Kylian Mbappé, Lamine Yamal, Harry Kane and Erling Haaland are also among the contenders.
The full list of nominees:
- 1. Jude Bellingham
- 2. Pau Cubarsí
- 3. Marc Cucurella
- 4. Ousmane Dembélé
- 5. Luis Díaz
- 6. Bruno Fernandes
- 7. Erling Haaland
- 8. Gabriel
- 9. Harry Kane
- 10. Achraf Hakimi
- 11. Lamine Yamal
- 12. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia
- 13. Sadio Mané
- 14. Marquinhos
- 15. Lautaro Martínez
- 16. Kylian Mbappé
- 17. Nuno Mendes
- 18. Lionel Messi
- 19. Michael Olise
- 20. João Neves
- 21. Willian Pacho
- 22. Julián Quiñones
- 23. Declan Rice
- 24. Rodri
- 25. Ferran Torres
- 26. William Saliba
- 27. Dayot Upamecano
- 28. Vitinha
- 29. Vinícius Júnior
- 30. Fabián Ruiz
It is worth noting that Messi has received his 17th Ballon d'Or nomination. The Argentine is now just one nomination behind Cristiano Ronaldo's all-time record of 18.
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Steven Perez
Dailysports's expert
