The Independent
·10 September 2026
When is Ballon d’Or 2026 ceremony? Date, contenders and how to watch
When is Ballon d’Or 2026 ceremony? Date, contenders and how to watch | OneFootball
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The nominees for the men’s and women’s Ballon d’Or have been released ahead of the London ceremony, which takes place on Monday 26 October
England captain and Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane has made the 30-man shortlist for the men’s award and stands as one of the favourites after an astonishing season where he scored 73 goals for club and country.
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Kane is currently the odds-on favourite to scoop the prestigious prize, which would make him the first English player to win the men’s award since Michael Owen in 2001, but could the lack of a top trophy count against the 33-year-old?
Rodri, the Ballon d’Or winner in 2024, won the golden ball at the World Cup after leading Spain to glory while France and Real Madrid star Kylian Mbappe broke the World Cup goalscoring record after hitting an incredible 10 goals across the tournament.
Paris Saint-Germain’s Khvicha Kvaratskhelia was absent from the World Cup but was arguably the standout player in the men’s Champions League last season after leading the French side to a defence of their European crown.
The Ballon d’Or ceremony will take place in London next month, with the Ballon d’Or social media accounts usually providing a live stream.
Men’s Ballon d’Or
- Jude Bellingham ( Real Madrid and England)
- Pau Cubarsi (Barcelona and Spain)
- Marc Cucurella (Chelsea/Real Madrid and Spain)
- Ousmane Dembele (Paris Saint-Germain and France)
- Luis Diaz (Bayern Munich and Colombia)
- Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United and Portugal)
- Gabriel Magalhaes (Arsenal and Brazil)
- Erling Haaland (Manchester City and Norway)
- Achraf Hakimi (Paris Saint-Germain and Morocco)
- Harry Kane (Bayern Munich and England)
- Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (Paris Saint-Germain and Georgia)
- Lamine Yamal (Barcelona and Spain)
- Sadio Mane (Al Nassr and Senegal)
- Marquinhos (Paris Saint-Germain and Brazil)
- Lautaro Martinez (Inter Milan and Argentina)
- Kylian Mbappe (Real Madrid and France)
- Nuno Mendes (Paris Saint-Germain and Portugal)
- Lionel Messi (Inter Miami and Argentina)
- Joao Neves (Paris Saint-Germain and Portugal)
- Michael Olise (Bayern Munich and France)
- Willian Pacho (Paris Saint-Germain and Ecuador)
- Julian Quinones (Al Qadsiah and Mexico)
- Declan Rice (Arsenal and England)
- Rodri (Manchester City/Barcelona and Spain)
- Fabian Ruiz (Barcelona/Paris Saint-Germain and Spain)
- William Saliba (Arsenal and France)
- Ferran Torres (Paris Saint-Germain and Spain)
- Dayot Upamecano ( Bayern Munich and France)
- Vinicius Jr (Real Madrid and Brazil)
- Vitinha (Paris Saint-Germain and Portugal)
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Harry Kane scored 61 goals in 51 appearances for Bayern Munich last season (PA Archive)
Women's Ballon d'Or
- Selma Bacha (OL Lyonnes and France)
- Barbra Banda (Orlando Pride and Zambia)
- Esmee Brugts (Barcelona and Netherlands)
- Klara Buhl (Bayern Munich and Germany)
- Mariona Caldentey (Arsenal and Spain)
- Scarlett Camberos (Club America and Mexico)
- Temwa Chawinga (Kansas City Current and Malawi)
- Kerstin Casparij (Manchester City and Netherlands)
- Cata Coll (Barcelona and Spain)
- Corventina Dumornay (OL Lyonnes and Haiti)
- Caroline Graham Hansen (Barcelona and Norway)
- Alex Greenwood (Manchester City and England)
- Patri Guijarro (Barcelona and Spain)
- Pernille Harder (Bayern Munich and Denmark)
- Yui Hasegawa (Manchester City and Japan)
- Rose Lavelle (FC Gotham and USA)
- Mapi Leon (Barcelona / London City and Spain)
- Lorena Leite (Kansas City Current and Brazil)
- Manaka Matsukobo (Chelsea and Japan)
- Melvine Malard (Manchester Utd / Chelsea and France)
- Ewa Pajor (Barcelona and Poland)
- Vivianne Miedema (Manchester City and Netherlands)
- Alexia Putellas (Barcelona/London City Lionesses and Spain)
- Claudia Pina (Barcelona and Spain)
- Wendie Renard (OL Lyonnes and France)
- Alessia Russo (Arsenal and England)
- Momoko Tanikawa (Bayern Munich and Japan)
- Khadija Shaw (Manchester City and Jamaica)
- Tessa Wullaert (Como and Belgium)
- Caroline Weir (Real Madrid and Scotland)
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Khadija Shaw could stand among the favourites after firing Manchester City to a WSL and FA Cup double (Getty)
Men's Goalkeeper of the Year
- Yassine Bounou (Al Hilal and Morocco)
- Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid and Belgium)
- Gregor Kobel (Borussia Dortmund and Switerland)
- Joan Garcia (Barcelona and Spain)
- Edouard Mendy (Al-Ahli and Senegal)
- Emi Martinez (Aston Villa/Chelsea and Argentina)
- David Raya (Arsenal and Spain)
- Vozinha (GD Chaves/Colo-Colo and Cape Verde)
- Unai Simon (Athletic Bilbao and Spain)
- Matvey Safonov (PSG and Russia)
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Despite not playing at the World Cup, David Raya’s performances for Arsenal could make him a contender (Getty)
Women's Goalkeeper of the Year
- Ann-Katrin Berger (Gotham FC/Germany)
- Cata Coll (Barcelona/Spain)
- Hannah Hampton (Chelsea/England)
- Lorena (Kansas City/Brazil)
- Ayaka Yamashita (Manchester City/Japan)
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England goalkeeper Hannah Hampton won last year's Yashin Trophy and is nominated again (AFP/Getty)
Men's Young Talent of the Year
- Kerim Alajbegovic (RB Salzburg/Juventus/Bosnia & Herzegovina)
- Ayyoub Bouaddi (Lille/Manchester City/Morocco)
- Pau Cubarsi (Barcelona/Spain)
- Yan Diomande (RB Leizig/Real Madrid/Ivory Coast)
- Lennart Karl (Bayern Munich/Germany)
- Eli Junior Kroupi (Bournemouth/France)
- Johan Manzambi (Freiburg/Aston Villa/Switzerland)
- Lamine Yamal (Barcelona/Spain)
- Ibrahim Maza (Bayer Leverkusen/Algeria)
- Warren Zaire-Emery (PSG/France)
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Lamine Yamal is nominated for both the Kopa Trophy and the Ballon d'Or for the third year in a row (AFP/Getty)
Women's Young Talent of the Year
- Veerle Buurman (Chelsea/Netherlands)
- Vicky Lopez (Barcelona/Spain)
- Felicia Schroder (Real Madrid/BK Hacken/Sweden)
- Clara Serrajordi (Barcelona/Spain)
- Lily Yohannes (OL Lyonnes/USA)
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Vicky Lopez continues to shine for Barcelona and Spain (Getty)
Men's Coach of the Year
- Mikel Arteta - Arsenal
- Luis De La Fuente - Spain
- Unai Emery - Aston Villa
- Vincent Kompany - Bayern Munich
- Luis Enrique - PSG
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Mikel Arteta has been nominated after leading Arsenal to the Premier League title (Getty)
Women's Coach of the Year
- Jonatan Giraldez - OL Lyonnes
- Andree Jeglertz - Man City
- Nils Nielsen - most recently Japan
- Pere Romeu - FCB
- Elena Sadiku - Celtic/BK Hacken
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Andree Jeglertz led Manchester City to the double in his first season in England (PA)
Men's Club of the Year
- Arsenal
- Bayern Munich
- Bodo/Glimt
- Flamengo
- PSG
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Arsenal ended their long Premier League title drought and reached the Champions League final (Getty)
Women's Club of the Year
- FC Barcelona
- Bayern Munich
- Club America
- Manchester City
- OL Lyonnes
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Barcelona won the Women’s Champions League for the third time in four years (Getty)
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