Lionel Messi returns to the list of candidates for the Ballon d'Or after a two-year absence, while Cristiano Ronaldo extends his exclusion for the fourth consecutive season.
France Football and UEFA revealed on Tuesday the 30 nominees for the men's award in 2026, with the Argentine superstar from Inter Miami being one of the highlights of the announcement.
Messi played 49 matches this season, scoring 45 goals and providing 30 assists, along with winning the MLS title with his club. His return to the list comes after leading Argentina to the final of the 2026 World Cup, where the Albiceleste national team lost 1-0 to Spain in extra time. The last time he was among the candidates was in 2023, the year he won his eighth Ballon d'Or, a historic record.
Cristiano Ronaldo, on the other hand, does not appear among the 30 finalists despite having concluded the season with 39 goals according to specialized media. Analysts point to the lesser significance of the Saudi Pro League compared to the major European leagues as the main reason for his exclusion. The Portuguese player, a five-time winner of the award (2008, 2013, 2014, 2016, and 2017), has not been nominated since 2022.
The list includes six Spaniards: Pau Cubarsí, Marc Cucurella, Lamine Yamal, Rodri, Fabián Ruiz, and Ferran Torres, all of whom are world champions with the Spanish national team.
Yamal, with 25 goals and 20 assists in 57 matches, is one of the main favorites alongside Harry Kane - 73 goals in 65 matches with Bayern Munich - and Kylian Mbappé, who scored 58 goals with Real Madrid but did not win any team titles this season.
One of the surprises of the announcement is the presence of Julián Quiñones (Mexico, Al-Qadsiah), the second Mexican in history to reach the 30 finalists for the men's Ballon d'Or, following Guillermo Ochoa in 2007. The forward finished the season as the top scorer of the Saudi Pro League with 33 goals in 31 matches, and he has accumulated 41 goals in 46 matches for the entirety of the campaign.
The title defender is Ousmane Dembélé, who won at the 2025 ceremony held in Paris. The French player from PSG has once again been nominated after a season in which his team secured the Champions League, the Intercontinental Cup, the UEFA Super Cup, and Ligue 1.
The 2026 edition of the award brings a historic novelty: for the first time in its seven decades of existence, the ceremony will not be held in Paris.
On October 26, the London Palladium in London will host the award ceremony in honor of Sir Stanley Matthews, the English footballer who won the first Ballon d'Or in 1956, the year the award was created by France Football. The choice of the British capital also coincides with the 70th anniversary of the most prestigious trophy in world football.
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