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🇳🇬 Nigeria /Sports

Meet the 30 players nominated for the 2026 Ballon d’Or

From Vanguard · () English

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

At a glance

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  • Organizers revealed the 30 nominees for the 2026 Ballon d’Or, including defending champion Ousmane Dembélé and seven-time winner Lionel Messi.
  • Other nominees include Kylian Mbappé, Erling Haaland, Vinícius Jr., Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham, Lamine Yamal and Achraf Hakimi.
  • The winner will be crowned at an awards ceremony in London on October 26.

The full 30-player shortlist for the 2026 Ballon d’Or is out, bringing together many of football’s biggest names in the race for the prestigious individual award.

Defending champion Ousmane Dembélé is among the nominees, as is Lionel Messi, who has won the award seven times. The list also features Kylian Mbappé, Erling Haaland, Vinícius Jr., Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham, Lamine Yamal and Achraf Hakimi.

The remaining nominees are Pau Cubarsí, Marc Cucurella, Luis Díaz, Bruno Fernandes, Gabriel, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Sadio Mané, Marquinhos, Lautaro Martínez, Nuno Mendes, João Neves, Michael Olise, Willian Pacho, Julián Quiñones, Declan Rice, Rodri, Fabián Ruiz, William Saliba, Ferran Torres, Dayot Upamecano and Vitinha.

The nominees are recognized for performances during the 2025/26 season. Club success, individual displays and consistency are among the factors considered for the award. The winner will be announced at a ceremony in London on October 26.

About this summary

Originally published by Vanguard in English. 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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