No goalkeeper among 30 Ballon d'Or nominees for 2026, a first since 1995 | OneFootball

No goalkeeper features among the 30 nominees for the 2026 Ballon d'Or, with last year's ninth-placed Gianluigi Donnarumma missing out.

According to L'Équipe, it is the first Ballon d'Or shortlist without a keeper since the list was created in 1995, which has ranged between 50, 23 and 30 names. The 70th edition will be held in London on 26 October.

Lev Yashin remains the only goalkeeper to have won the award, in 1963, so there will be no successor this year. This will be only the third year with no keeper in the final ranking, after 1967 and 1968.

Despite conceding only one goal in seven matches at this summer's World Cup, Athletic Bilbao's Unai Simon was rarely tested behind a dominant Spain back line. David Raya, outstanding for Arsenal as Premier League winners and Champions League finalists, was on the World Cup bench for La Roja and that has counted against him.

Aston Villa's Emiliano Martinez, a World Cup finalist and Europa League winner, also misses out after finishing 15th in 2023 and 18th in 2024. Donnarumma, now at Manchester City and ninth in 2025 following a standout Champions League campaign with Paris Saint-Germain, has been hampered by Italy's latest failure to reach the World Cup.

The omission preserves intrigue around the goalkeeper of the season award, previously the Yashin Trophy. In 2024 and 2025 only one keeper made the 30, Martinez then Donnarumma, which left little suspense over that prize.

Source: L'Équipe

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