Absence of Raphinha and Flick among the biggest shocks: the full list of nominees for the 2026 Ballon d'Or | Goal.com
France Football magazine, in collaboration with UEFA, announced on Tuesday the official list of nominees for the 2026 Ballon d'Or, considered the most important and most valuable award in the world of football, following an exceptional season that witnessed fierce competition between the game's stars at both the collective and individual levels.
The announcement also brought a number of glaring surprises. Chief among them was the absence of Brazilian Raphinha from the best player nominations, despite his remarkable season with Barcelona, alongside his Spanish teammates Pedri and Dani Olmo. The biggest shock came in the women's category, where Spain's Aitana Bonmatí, winner of the last three Ballon d'Or awards, missed out on a nomination entirely.
Another surprise landed in the best coach category, with Barcelona's technical director Hansi Flick left out of contention. The lists elsewhere revealed fierce competition across the various categories ahead of the coronation ceremony scheduled for London on 26 October.
Proceedings began with the best women's club award. First up were La Liga and Champions League winners Barcelona, up against Champions League runners-up Bayern Munich, England's Manchester City and France's Lyon.
Next came the best men's team award, opening with Premier League champions and Champions League runners-up Arsenal. Their rivals were Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich, Norway's Bodø/Glimt, Brazil's Flamengo and France's Paris Saint-Germain.
The best coach in the world for women's teams category featured the following names: Jonatan Giráldez ("Lyon"), Andrée Jeglertz ("Manchester City"), Nils Nielsen ("Japan national team"), Pere Romeu ("Barcelona"), Elena Sadiku ("Celtic/BK Häcken").
Spain dominated the nominations for best coach in the world for men's teams, with the quartet of Mikel Arteta ("Arsenal"), Luis de la Fuente ("Spain national team"), Unai Emery ("Aston Villa") and Luis Enrique ("Paris Saint-Germain"), plus Belgium's Vincent Kompany ("Bayern Munich").
Big names missed the cut, among them Germany's Hansi Flick, Spain's Pep Guardiola, and Argentines Diego Simeone and Lionel Scaloni.
Contenders for the best goalkeeper in the world for 2026 award included Germany's Ann-Katrin Berger, Spain's Cata Coll, England's Hannah Hampton, Brazil's Lorena, and Japan's Ayaka Yamashita.
Nominations for the best goalkeeper in the world award (Lev Yashin Trophy) featured Spain's Joan García, Morocco's Yassine Bounou, Belgium's Thibaut Courtois, Argentina's Emiliano Martínez, Switzerland's Gregor Kobel, Senegal's Édouard Mendy, Spain's David Raya and his compatriot Unai Simón, Cape Verde's goalkeeper Vozinha, and Russia's Safonov.
Two Arab stars, Morocco's Ayoub Bouaddi and Algeria's Ibrahim Maza, compete with eight prominent names for the Kopa Trophy for best young player in the world.Alongside Bouaddi and Maza, the list also included Bosnia's Kerim Alajbegović, Spain's Pau Cubarsí, Ivory Coast's Yan Diomande, Germany's Lennart Karl, France's Elye Junior Kroupi, Spain's Lamine Yamal, Switzerland's Johan Manzambi, and France's Warren Zaïre-Emery.
Then came the glaring surprise. The list of 30 nominees for the Ballon d'Or for best player in the world was revealed without the name of Spain's Aitana Bonmatí, who claimed the award over the last three years.
The list of 30 players came as follows: Selma Bacha, Barbra Banda, Klara Bühl, Esmee Brugts, Mariona Caldentey, Scarlett Camberos, Kerstin Casparij, Temwa Chawinga, Cata Coll, Melchie Dumornay, Caroline Graham Hansen, Alex Greenwood, Patri Guijarro, Pernille Harder, Yui Hasegawa, Rose Lavelle, Mapi León, Lorena, Melvine Malard, Manaka Matsukubo, Vivianne Miedema, Ewa Pajor, Claudia Pina, Alexia Putellas, Wendie Renard, Alessia Russo, Khadija Shaw, Momoko Tanikawa, Caroline Weir, and Tessa Wullaert.
Now came the most important list of all: the contenders for the Ballon d'Or for best player in the world.
The award's account announced the names separately, and we bring them to you in turn:
List of nominees:
Jude Bellingham, Marc Cucurella, Pau Cubarsí, title holder Ousmane Dembélé, Bruno Fernandes, Luis Díaz, Erling Haaland, Gabriel Magalhães, Achraf Hakimi, Harry Kane, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Lamine Yamal, Sadio Mané, Marquinhos, Kylian Mbappé, Lautaro Martínez, Michael Olise, Willian Pacho, João Neves, Julián Quiñones, Rodri, Nuno Mendes, Vinícius Júnior, Declan Rice, Lionel Messi, Fabián Ruiz, Ferran Torres, Dayot Upamecano, William Saliba, Vitinha.
Heavyweight names were nowhere to be seen, chief among them Brazil's Raphinha and Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo, plus Spain's Pedri and Dani Olmo.
The Ballon d'Or is awarded annually to the best player in the world, based on a vote by a committee of sports journalists representing various countries around the world. The winner is chosen according to several criteria, most notably individual and collective performance, sportsmanship, and consistency of level throughout the season.
London hosts the awards ceremony on 26 October 2026, a first in the history of the award. The night will crown the Ballon d'Or winner along with the recipients of the rest of the individual honours, such as the "Yashin" award for best goalkeeper and the "Kopa" award for best young player, plus best coach, best club and a number of others.
Every year the Ballon d'Or draws huge global attention as the most prominent measure of the best player in the world, followed closely by public and media alike, especially as the game's biggest stars fight ever harder to claim the most precious individual prize.
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