Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane is one of three England players nominated for the 2026 Ballon d'Or. Real Madrid's Jude Bellingham and Arsenal's Declan Rice join Kane, the favourite for the award, on the 30-player shortlist. Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi, who is looking to win his ninth Ballon d'Or, has been nominated.
The 39-year-old scored eight goals as Argentina lost the World Cup final to Spain in July, with Messi since retiring from international football. Lamine Yamal is one of six Spain players that won the World Cup to be included. Having scored the winning goal in the final, Paris St-Germain forward Ferran Torres, who joined the French club from Barcelona in the summer, makes the cut.
Back-to-back Champions League winners Paris St-Germain have nine players - excluding new signing Torres - nominated, including last year's winner Ousmane Dembele. Real Madrid forwards Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Jr also make the shortlist, as do Arsenal defenders Gabriel and William Saliba. The award is celebrating its 70th anniversary, having been created by France Football in 1956, and the winner will be announced at an ceremony in London on 26 October.
The "symbolic choice of venue" is in tribute to former England player Sir Stanley Matthews, who won the first Ballon d'Or. This could be year I win Ballon d'Or, says Mbappe Ousmane Dembele (Paris St-Germain/France) Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United/Portugal) Achraf Hakimi (Paris St-Germain/Morocco) Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (Paris St-Germain/Georgia) Lautaro Martinez (Inter Milan/Argentina) Willian Pacho (Paris St-Germain/Ecuador) Kerim Alajbegovic (Bayer Leverkusen/Bosnia-Herzegovina) Johan Manzambi (Aston Villa/Switzerland) Warren Zaire-Emery (France/Paris St-Germain) The heroics of Cape Verde keeper Vozinha were one of the highlights of the 2026 World Cup and, along with Arsenal and Spain stopper David Raya, he is on the list for the men's Ballon d'Or goalkeeper award. The nominations are: Gregor Kobel (Borussia Dortmund/Switzerland) Emiliano Martínez (Aston Villa/Chelsea/Argentina) Matvey Safonov (Paris St-Germain/Russia) Can Kane buck history and win Ballon d'Or? 73 goals from dropping deep - we ask Kane to break down how he did it Russo and Greenwood nominated for Ballon d'Or
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