Ballon d'Or nominee finalists: Lionel Messi, Harry Kane lead field; Rose Lavelle only American woman nominated

The ceremony heads to London for the first time as Lionel Messi chases a ninth award, and on the women's side, Rose Lavelle is the only American nominated for the top award

Sep 8, 2026 at 1:04 pm ET • 3 min read

The path to the Ballon d'Or is becoming clearer, as on Tuesday the finalists for each of the awards were announced. It should come as no surprise that the reigning winners of the Champions League, Paris Saint-Germain and World Cup winners Spain are well represented in the rankings, while Rose Lavelle and Lily Yohannes are the only Americans nominated for any awards at all. After winning the Ballon d'Or eight times, Lionel Messi is nominated yet again as he could claim the award on the back of securing an MLS Cup with Inter Miami and coming in as a runner-up with Argentina during the World Cup.

For the first time, the award ceremony will take place outside of Paris, with it taking place at the London Palladium Theater. We'll find out the winners on Monday, October 26, but for now, let's take a look at who the nominees for each award are:

Young talent of the year nominees

Men's 

• Kerim Alajbegovic (Juventus/Bosnia and Hertzgovina)
• Ayyoub Bouaddi (Manchester City/Morocco)
• Pau Cubarsi (Barcelona/Spain)
• Yan Diomande (Real Madrid/Ivory Coast)
• Lennart Karl (Bayern Munich/Germany)
• Eli Junior Kroupi (Bounemouth/France)
• Lamine Yamal (Barcelona/Spain)
• Johan Manzambi (Aston Villa/Switzerland)
• Ibahim Maza (Bayer Leverkusen/Algeria)
• Warren Zaire-Emery (Paris Saint-Germain/France)

Women's 

• Veerle Buurman (Chelsea/Netherlands)
• Vicky Lopez (Barcelona/Spain)
• Felicia Schroder (Real Madrid/Sweden)
• Clara Serrajordi (Barcelona/Spain)
• Lily Yohannes (OL Lyonnes/United States)

Goalkeeper of the year nominees

Men's 

• Yassine Bounou (Al Hilal/Morocco)
• Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid/Belgium)
• Joan Garcia (Barcelona/Spain)
• Gregor Kobel (Borussia Dortmund/Switzerland)
• Emiliano Martinez (Chelsea/Argentina)
• Edouard Mendy (Al Ahli/Senegal)
• David Raya (Arsenal/Spain)
• Matvey Safonov (Paris Saint-Germain/Russia)
• Unai Simon (Athletic Club/Spain)

Women's 

• Ann-Katrin Berger (NY/NJ Gotham/Germany)
• Cata Coll (Barcelona/Spain)
• Hannah Hampton (Chelsea/England)
• Lorena (Kansas City Current/Brazil)
• Ayaka Yamashita (/Manchester CityJapan)

Coach of the year nominees

Men's

• Mikel Arteta (Arsenal)
• Luis de la Fuente (Spain)
• Unai Emery (Aston Villa)
• Vincent Kompany (Bayern Munich)
• Luis Enrique (Paris Saint-Germain)

Women's

• Jonatan Giraldez (OL Lyonnes)
• Andree Jeglertz (Manchester City)
• Nils Nielsen (Japan National Team)
• Pere Romeu (Barcelona)
• Elena Sadiku (Celtic/Hacken)

Club of the year nominees

Men's

• Arsenal
• Bayern Munich
• Bodo/Glimt
• Flamengo
• Paris Saint-Germain 

Women's

• Barcelona
• Bayern Munich
• Club America
• Manchester City
• OL Lyonnes

Ballon d'Or nominees

Men's

• Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid/England)
• Pau Cubarsi (Barcelona/Spain)
• Marc Cucurella (Real Madrid/Spain)
• Ousmane Dembele (Paris Saint-Germain/France)
• Luis Diaz (Bayern Munich/Colombia)
• Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United/Portugal)
• Gabriel (Arsenal/Brazil)
• Erling Haaland (Manchester City/Norway)
• Achraf Hakimi (Paris Saint-Germain/Morocco)
• Harry Kane (Bayern Munich/England)
• Khvitcha Kvaratskhelia (Paris Saint-Germain/Georgia)
• Lamine Yamal (Barcelona/Spain)
• Sadio Mane (/Senegal)
• Marquinhos (Paris Saint-Germain/Brazil)
• Lautaro Martinez (Inter/Argentina)
• Kylian Mbappe (Real Madrid/France)
• Nuno Mendes (Paris Saint-Germain/Portugal)
• Lionel Messi (Inter Miami/Argentina)
• Joao Neves (Paris Saint-Germain/Portugal)
• Michael Olise (Bayern Munich/France)
• Willian Pacho (Paris Saint-Germain/Ecuador)
• Julian Quinones (/Mexico)
• Declan Rice (Arsenal/England)
• Rodri (Barcelona/Spain)
• Fabian Ruiz (Paris Saint-Germain/Spain)
• William Saliba (Arsenal/France)
• Ferran Torres (Paris Saint-Germain/Spain)
• Dayot Upamecano (Bayern Munich/France)
• Vinicius Jr. (Real Madird/Brazil)
• Vitinha (Paris Saint-Germain/Portugal)

Women's 

• Selma Bacha (Lyon/France)
• Barbra Banda (Orlando Pride/Zambia)
• Klara Buhl (Bayern Munich/Germany)
• Esmee Brugts (Barcelona/Netherlands)
• Mariona Caldentey (Arsenal/Spain)
• Scarlett Camberos (Club América/Mexico)
• Kerstin Casparij (Manchester City/Netherlands)
• Temwa Chawinga (Kansas City Current/Malawi)
• Cata Coll (Barcelona/Spain)
• Melchie Dumornay (Lyon/Haiti)
• Caroline Graham Hansen (Barcelona/Norway)
• Alex Greenwood (Manchester City/England)
• Patri Guijarro (Barcelona/Spain)
• Pernille Harder (Bayern Munich/Denmark)
• Yui Hasegawa (Manchester City/Japan)
• Rose Lavelle (NJ/NY Gotham FC/United States)
• Mapi Leon (Barcelona/Spain)
• Lorena (Kansas City Current/Brazil)
• Melvine Malard (Manchester United/France)
• Manaka Matsukubo (North Carolina Courage/Japan)
• Vivianne Miedema (Manchester City/Netherlands)
• Ewa Pajor (Barcelona/Poland)
• Claudia Pina (Barcelona/Spain)
• Alexia Putellas (Barcelona/Spain)
• Wendie Renard (Lyon/France)
• Alessia Russo (Arsenal/England)
• Khadija Shaw (Manchester City/Jamaica)
• Momoko Tanikawa (Bayern Munich/Japan)
• Caroline Weir (Real Madrid/Scotland)
• Tessa Wullaert (Inter Milan/Belgium