Ballon d’Or Nominees 2026: Expected 30-Man Shortlist
Ballon d’Or nominees 2026 are set to be revealed today. See the projected 30-man shortlist.
The Ballon d’Or nominees for 2026 are set to be revealed today, with 30 outstanding players expected to make the men’s shortlist. Ahead of the official announcement, we have compared the latest selections and power rankings of players projected to be on the 30-man list.
Expected 30-Man Ballon d’Or Shortlist
1. Lamine Yamal
2. Harry Kane
3. Kylian Mbappé
4. Rodri
5. Michael Olise
6. Ousmane Dembélé
7. Lionel Messi
8. Erling Haaland
9. Jude Bellingham
10. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia
11. Vitinha
12. Fabián Ruiz
13. Achraf Hakimi
14. Declan Rice
15. Pau Cubarsí
16. Marc Cucurella
17. William Saliba
18. Dayot Upamecano
19. Luis Díaz
20. Lautaro Martínez
21. Nuno Mendes
22. Enzo Fernández
23. Bruno Fernandes
24. Gabriel Magalhães
25. Emiliano Martínez
26. Unai Simón
27. Désiré Doué
28. Vinícius Júnior
29. Julián Álvarez
30. Ferran Torres
The first 26 names is made up of the strongest consensus. Eurosport’s latest assessment has 18 players virtually certain to make the list.
The final 4 spots are where our projection differs from simply following one outlet’s list. Ferran, in particular, came into the argument after scoring the winning goal in the World Cup final, while Vinícius remains one of Real Madrid’s leading individual talents despite a difficult season for the club.
Other notable names could still break into the official 30, with David Raya, Willian Pacho, Marquinhos, João Neves, Pedro Porro, Mikel Oyarzabal and Pedri among those competing for the final places in various projections. GOAL’s ranking also includes Raya, Oyarzabal and other fringe candidates, showing just how difficult the final selections are to predict.
The official Ballon d’Or announcement will settle the debate, but based on the overlap between the leading predictions, the projected 30-man shortlist combines the strongest club performers with players whose 2026 World Cup campaigns significantly strengthened their cases. The 2026 Ballon d’Or ceremony will take place in London on October 26
