The ceremony, which takes place on Monday, 26 October 2026 in London, it the 70th edition and the move from Paris to the English capital is a tribute to Sir Stanley Matthews, the Englishman who won the inaugural Ballon d’Or in 1956.
As fans wait to see who will be awarded the prestigious trophy, the current favourites to be handed the award are Bayern Munich’s Harry Kane, Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappe, Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal and Paris Saint-Germain's Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Ousmane Dembele.
Last year it was Dembélé who took home the prize and fans will be eager who will be picked as the latest player to be placed alongside some of the greatest names in football history.
Now, the list of 30 nominees have been named including a number of faces that have been nominated in the past but have never won such as Sadio Mane, Achraf Hakimi, Vinicius Junior, Jude Bellingham and Declan Rice.
Here is the full list of nominees
- Jude Bellingham
- Pau Cubarsi
- Marc Cucurella
- Ousmane Dembele
- Luis Diaz
- Bruno Fernandes
- Erling Haaland
- Gabriel Magalhaes
- Harry Kane
- Achraf Hakimi
- Lamine Yamal
- Khvicha Kvaratskhelia
- Marquinhos
- Sadio Mane
- Lautaro Martinez
- Kylian Mbappe
- Nuno Mendes
- Lionel Messi
- Michael Olise
- Joao Neves
- Willian Pacho
- Julian Quinones
- Declan Rice
- Rodri
- William Saliba
- Dayot Upamecano
- Fabian Ruiz
- Vinicius Junior
- Vitinha
- Ferran Torres