Ballon d'Or 2026

Nobody yet. The 2026 Ballon d'Or has not been awarded: the ceremony takes place on October 26, 2026 in London, and the 30-name shortlists for the men's and women's awards were published on September 8, 2026. The award period runs August 1, 2025 to July 31, 2026. Lamine Yamal (Barcelona, Spain) is the frontrunner after Spain's World Cup win, ahead of Rodri, who took the tournament's Golden Ball. The reigning holder, from 2025, is Ousmane Dembélé. Sources: Ballon d'Or, France Football, FIFA.

The 2026 Ballon d'Or ceremony takes place on October 26, 2026, in London. It is the 70th edition, and the venue is a nod to Sir Stanley Matthews, the very first Ballon d'Or winner 70 years earlier.

Ousmane Dembélé, the PSG and France forward, won the 2025 men's Ballon d'Or, finishing ahead of Lamine Yamal and his PSG teammate Vitinha. Aitana Bonmatí won the women's award for a third year in a row.

After the 2026 World Cup, Lamine Yamal (Barcelona, Spain) is the clear frontrunner. Spain won the 2026 World Cup on July 19 (1-0 AET vs Argentina, Ferran Torres 106'), and Yamal was named Best Young Player of the tournament. Rodri (Spain) won the Golden Ball, his World Cup performance reinforces his own Ballon d'Or candidacy. The pre-tournament field of Kane, Mbappé, Olise, and Dembélé remains relevant based on club form, but the World Cup boost shifts the dynamic strongly toward Yamal. Sources: FIFA, Goal.com, FourFourTwo.

It is harder post-World Cup. Kylian Mbappé won the Golden Boot with 10 goals, which keeps him in the conversation, but France lost in the semi-finals and Mbappé did not receive individual tournament honours. His Real Madrid club form across the 2025-26 season remains a factor, but Lamine Yamal's World Cup triumph has nudged Mbappé down the rankings. Sources: FIFA, Goal.com.

It has. The 2026 World Cup, which ended July 19 with Spain defeating Argentina 1-0 AET, falls within the voting window for the October 26 ceremony, and historically a World Cup winner's talisman takes the award. Lamine Yamal (Best Young Player) and Rodri (Golden Ball) are now the two biggest Ballon d'Or beneficiaries from the tournament. Club form still counts across the remainder of the season, but the World Cup has set the hierarchy. Sources: FIFA, Goal.com, FourFourTwo.

Yes. Rodri (Manchester City and Spain) won the Golden Ball at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, recognising the tournament's best player. His performance in Spain's run to the title bolsters his own 2026 Ballon d'Or case, though most analysts place Lamine Yamal slightly ahead given his youth, attacking impact, and Best Young Player award. Sources: FIFA.

At the London Palladium, the West End theatre, and it is the first time the ceremony has been staged outside France. Holding the 70th edition there honours England's Sir Stanley Matthews, who won the inaugural Ballon d'Or in 1956.

Not yet. Lamine Yamal finished second in 2025, behind Ousmane Dembélé, making the Barcelona teenager one of the most talked-about contenders to win it for the first time in 2026 or soon after.

Tuesday, September 8, 2026. France Football publishes the shortlists on the official Ballon d'Or website across the afternoon, between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. CET, category by category rather than all at once. Sources: Yahoo Sports, Goal.com, Ballon d'Or.

Thirty in the men's Ballon d'Or and thirty in the women's. The other ten categories are shorter: 10 nominees each for men's Young Talent, men's Goalkeeper and men's Striker, and 5 each for the women's equivalents, plus 5 coaches and 5 clubs per gender. Sources: Vanguard, Pulse.

Men's and women's Ballon d'Or, men's and women's Young Talent of the Year, men's and women's Goalkeeper of the Year, men's and women's Coach of the Year, men's and women's Striker of the Year, and men's and women's Club of the Year. Twelve awards in total, all shortlisted on September 8. Source: Vanguard.

August 1, 2025 to July 31, 2026. It is the fifth edition judged on a season rather than a calendar year, which is why the 2026 World Cup, played in June and July 2026, falls inside the voting window. Source: Wikipedia.

Because it is the 70th edition and France Football is marking it by taking the gala to the country of the first winner. Sir Stanley Matthews, an Englishman, won the inaugural Ballon d'Or in 1956. It is the first time the ceremony leaves Paris for London. Sources: Ballon d'Or, Yahoo Sports.

Thirty men, published on September 8. The names driving the coverage are Harry Kane, Kylian Mbappé, Lamine Yamal, Jude Bellingham, holder Ousmane Dembélé, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Lionel Messi. Paris Saint-Germain supply nine of the thirty, the largest single-club presence on the list, after their 2025-26 campaign. Dembélé himself named Kvaratskhelia, Kane and Mbappé as his top three. Sources: UEFA, Al Jazeera, FOX Sports, Yardbarker.

No. The winner of the last three women's Ballons d'Or did not make the 30-name shortlist, having missed most of the season through injury. It is the first time since 2022 that the women's award will go to someone else. Sources: Al Jazeera, click2houston.

With Bonmatí out of the running, Alexia Putellas is the most cited name, a two-time winner looking for a third, alongside Ewa Pajor and Melchie Dumornay. The women's race is genuinely open for the first time in four years. Sources: Al Jazeera, click2houston.

At the London Palladium, the West End theatre on Argyll Street. It is the first time the ceremony leaves France, chosen for the 70th edition as a tribute to Sir Stanley Matthews, the Englishman who won the very first Ballon d'Or in 1956. Sources: beIN Sports, Yardbarker.