The nominees for the 2026 Ballon d’Or have been announced, with England captain Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham and Declan Rice among the 30 players competing for football’s most prestigious individual prize.
However, one of the biggest talking points from the announcement is the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo, despite the Portuguese superstar enjoying another successful campaign with Al-Nassr.
The 2026 ceremony will mark the 70th edition of the Ballon d’Or and is scheduled to take place in London, England, on October 26.
Kane enters the race as one of the leading contenders after producing one of the most prolific seasons of his career. The Bayern Munich striker scored 73 goals last season, strengthening his claim to the coveted award.
A victory for Kane would also make him the first Englishman to win the men’s Ballon d’Or since Michael Owen claimed the prize in 2001.
Kane is joined on the 30-man shortlist by fellow England internationals Bellingham of Real Madrid and Rice of Arsenal.
Other high-profile names in contention include Kylian Mbappe, Lamine Yamal, Lionel Messi, Vinicius Junior, Erling Haaland, Rodri, Ousmane Dembele, Bruno Fernandes and Michael Olise.
The men’s shortlist features:
- Jude Bellingham — Real Madrid
- Pau Cubarsi — Barcelona
- Marc Cucurella — Real Madrid
- Ousmane Dembele — PSG
- Luis Diaz — Bayern Munich
- Bruno Fernandes — Manchester United
- Erling Haaland — Manchester City
- Gabriel — Arsenal
- Harry Kane — Bayern Munich
- Achraf Hakimi — PSG
- Lamine Yamal — Barcelona
- Khvicha Kvaratskhelia — PSG
- Marquinhos — PSG
- Sadio Mane — Al-Nassr
- Lautaro Martinez — Inter
- Kylian Mbappe — Real Madrid
- Nuno Mendes — PSG
- Lionel Messi — Inter Miami
- Michael Olise — Bayern Munich
- Joao Neves — PSG
- William Pacho — PSG
- Julian Quinones — Al-Qadsiah
- Declan Rice — Arsenal
- Rodri — Barcelona
- Ferran Torres — PSG
- Fabian Ruiz — PSG
- William Saliba — Arsenal
- Dayot Upamecano — Bayern Munich
- Vinicius Junior — Real Madrid
- Vitinha — PSG
The absence of Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the most notable aspects of this year’s nominations.
Ronaldo was not included among the 30 nominees despite winning the Saudi Pro League with Al-Nassr, ending his hopes of adding another Ballon d’Or title to his collection.
The omission is particularly significant given Ronaldo’s long-standing rivalry with Lionel Messi, who remains on the 2026 shortlist.
Meanwhile, Lamine Yamal and Kylian Mbappe are expected to be among the strongest challengers to Kane for the award.
Yamal has also been nominated for the Young Talent of the Year prize, highlighting his continued emergence as one of football’s brightest young stars.
The women’s Ballon d’Or shortlist also features several of the biggest names in the women’s game.
Among the 30 nominees are Barcelona stars Caroline Graham Hansen, Patri Guijarro and Ewa Pajor, while Alexia Putellas, Alessia Russo, Khadija Shaw, Vivianne Miedema and Wendie Renard are also in contention.
England internationals Alex Greenwood and Alessia Russo are among the nominees.
The 2026 awards will also recognise the best young players, goalkeepers and coaches in both men’s and women’s football.
The men’s Young Talent of the Year shortlist includes Lamine Yamal, Pau Cubarsi, Warren Zaire-Emery and other emerging stars.
For the men’s Goalkeeper of the Year award, nominees include Thibaut Courtois, Yassine Bounou, Gregor Kobel, David Raya and Edouard Mendy.
The men’s Coach of the Year nominees include Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta, Spain boss Luis de la Fuente, Unai Emery, Vincent Kompany and PSG manager Luis Enrique.
The 2026 Ballon d’Or ceremony will be held on October 26, 2026, in London.
It will be the first time the prestigious awards ceremony has been staged outside Paris.
The winners will be determined through a voting process involving journalists from the top 100 FIFA-ranked nations for the men’s award.
Each journalist will select their top 10 players from the 30-man shortlist, with points awarded according to their ranking.
Voters are expected to consider individual performances, decisive contributions, team achievements, overall class and fair play when making their selections.
For the women’s award, the voting process is similar, although journalists from the top 50 FIFA-ranked nations participate.
With Kane, Mbappe, Yamal, Bellingham, Haaland and other global stars in contention, the 2026 Ballon d’Or race promises to be one of the most closely watched individual awards in football.
