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Ballon d’Or 2026: The full list of nominees

From La Nación · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

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  • France Football has announced 30 candidates in each category ahead of the 2026 Ballon d’Or ceremony in London on Oct. 26.
  • Argentina has three nominees across the categories: Lionel Messi and Lautaro Martínez for the Ballon d’Or, and Emiliano Martínez for the Lev Yashin Trophy.
  • The awards cover the 2025-26 season and will recognize players, coaches, goalkeepers and under-21 footballers in the men’s and women’s game.

The countdown to the 2026 Ballon d’Or has begun after France Football announced 30 candidates in each category. The annual ceremony will take place on Monday, Oct. 26, at The London Palladium in London, England.

Argentina has three players in contention across the awards. Lionel Messi and Lautaro Martínez are nominated for the Ballon d’Or, while Emiliano “Dibu” Martínez is seeking his third Lev Yashin Trophy as the world’s best goalkeeper.

France Football has organized the ceremony independently since separating from FIFA in 2016. The magazine honors the best players in the men’s and women’s game, as well as the leading coaches, goalkeepers and under-21 footballers worldwide.

This year’s judging period covers performances from July 2025 through July 19, the day of the World Cup final. A panel of 100 journalists from the 100 countries highest in the FIFA ranking will choose the winners. Ousmane Dembélé, the 2025 Ballon d’Or winner, is again among the candidates, while Spain coach Luis de la Fuente is nominated for best men’s coach.

About this summary

Originally published by La Nación in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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