Updated

Updated · Sports Illustrated · Oct 26

France Football Unveils 30 Ballon d’Or Nominees as Bonmatí Injury Guarantees New Women’s Winner

Updated

Updated · Sports Illustrated · Oct 26

France Football Unveils 30 Ballon d’Or Nominees as Bonmatí Injury Guarantees New Women’s Winner

Q: Will Lionel Messi's lone MLS nomination be enough to disrupt the European heavyweights at tonight's award ceremony?

Probably not. Messi’s nomination is significant, but the evidence points to him being an outsider rather than a likely winner against Europe’s leading candidates. His case is stronger than a token MLS inclusion. He is the only current MLS player on the 30-man shortlist, won another MLS MVP award, helped Inter Miami to the 2025 MLS Cup, and had a major World Cup with Argentina, scoring eight goals and adding four assists en route to the final. That explains why he remains in the conversation at age 39 and why some analysts still give him an outside chance. But Ballon d’Or voting now weighs a full season, with individual performance and team success across club and country. On those measures, the race appears to be centered on Harry Kane, Lamine Yamal and Kylian Mbappé. Kane is the bookmakers’ favorite after a 73-goal season and major silverware with Bayern. Yamal has the World Cup title with Spain and La Liga with Barcelona. Mbappé has overwhelming scoring numbers even if his trophy haul is lighter. Paris Saint-Germain’s deep pool of nominees also reflects how much elite European club success still shapes the vote. Messi could still influence the final rankings because 100 journalists vote on a top-10 system, which rewards broad support even without many first-place votes. That makes a podium finish or strong top-five showing plausible. But disrupting the main European heavyweights to actually win a ninth Ballon d’Or would require a real surprise.

3 articles · Updated · Sports Illustrated · Oct 26

France Football named 30 nominees each for the 2026 Ballon d’Or and Ballon d’Or Féminin, opening races led by recent winners Ousmane Dembélé, Rodri and Lionel Messi on the men’s side.
Aitana Bonmatí is absent from the women’s shortlist because of the broken leg that has sidelined her since December 2025, ending her bid for a fourth straight award.
PSG has 10 men’s nominees, while Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich each place four; Messi is the only MLS player shortlisted and Julián Quiñones represents the Saudi Pro League.
The women’s field looks unusually open, with Alexia Putellas, Ewa Pajor, Melchie Dumornay, Pernille Harder and Khadija Shaw among the leading contenders.
Voting will be decided by 100 journalists for the men’s prize and 50 for the women’s, each ranking their top 10 players from the 30-player shortlists.