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The Ballon d'Or 2026 is the 70th edition of the most prestigious individual award in the football calendar.
Presented by Kate Scott and Thierry Henry live from the London Palladium, we recognise the very elite of the sport, as for just the fifth time in the history of the award, it will be given based on the results of the season instead of the calendar year.
With Harry Kane, Kylian Mbappe and Lamine Yamal leading the favourites for the gong, it's promised to be one of the closest contests we've seen in years…
The full standings/nominees for the men's Ballon d'Or 2026 are as follows:
Three English players have been nominated for the award this year (Declan Rice, Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane), with seven Premier League players on the shortlist, in Rice, Gabriel, William Saliba (all Arsenal), Marc Cucurella (of Chelsea last season), Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United), Rodri and Erling Haaland (both of Manchester City: the former having left over the summer).
Six of Spain's World Cup winners of the summer have been given the nod, with Yamal, Cucurella and Rodri jonied by Fabian Ruiz, Pau Cubarsi and Ferran Torres, while last year's winner, Ousmane, Dembele, is one again nominated after winning another Champions League title with Paris Saint-Germain.
The full standings/nominees for the Ballon d'Or Feminin 2026 are as follows:
A host of Women's Super League players have been nominated for the women's award this year, with Alessia Russo, Mariona Caldentey, (both Arsenal) Alex Greenwood, Bunny Shaw, Yui Hasegawa, Kerstin Casparij, Vivianne Miedema (all Manchester City) and Melvine Malard (Manchester United) all nominated – along with London City Lionesses' Alexia Putellas, for her Barcelona exploits last term.
Russo and Greenwood are the only two Lionesses on the shortlist, with Aitana Bonmati not nominated this time around.
The Kopa Trophy is given to the best young performing player in the world under the age of 21.
Men's nominees:
Women's nominees:
The Yashin Trophy is awarded to the best goalkeeper in the world for the last season.
Men's nominees:
Women's nominees: