Ballon d'Or 2026: no goalkeeper in historic 30-player shortlist

The Ballon d’Or 2026 shortlist contains no goalkeeper, creating a first in the history of the award’s modern selection process. France Football revealed the 30 nominees ahead of the ceremony, which will take place in London on 26 October. Lev Yachine remains the only goalkeeper to have won the men’s Ballon d’Or, in 1963, and there will be no successor this year.

Since 1995, when a shortlist was introduced before the final vote, at least one goalkeeper had appeared among the nominees every year. Gianluigi Donnarumma was the sole representative of the position last year and finished ninth. He was then at Paris Saint-Germain, behind three team-mates in the voting: winner Ousmane Dembélé, Vitinha and Achraf Hakimi.

Several goalkeepers had cases for inclusion this time. David Raya won the Premier League Golden Glove for a third consecutive season, helped Arsenal win the English title and reached the Champions League final. His World Cup campaign, however, was spent on the bench behind Spain’s Unai Simón. Simón, Emiliano Martínez, Thibaut Courtois and Joan García were also nominated for the Yachine Trophy but did not make the Ballon d’Or list.

The omission extends a long period in which goalkeepers have struggled to reach the top positions. Apart from Yachine, only three goalkeepers have finished on the podium in the 21st century. Manuel Neuer came third in 2014, Gianluigi Buffon finished second in 2006, and Oliver Kahn placed third in 2001 and 2002. The 2026 shortlist is the first to exclude the position altogether since the current nomination system began.

Dembélé will have the opportunity to defend his 2025 title. The Paris Saint-Germain forward did not dominate the Champions League in the same way as the previous season, but his second European title keeps him in the running. Paris Saint-Germain is the best-represented club, with ten nominees: Hakimi, Fabian Ruiz, João Neves, Willian Pacho, Vitinha, Dembélé, Ferran Torres, Nuno Mendes, Marquinhos and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.

Kvaratskhelia is the only nominee who did not take part in the 2026 World Cup. The Georgian produced ten goals and seven assists in 16 Champions League matches for Paris Saint-Germain. Rodri is another leading name after being named the World Cup’s best player. Spain has six world champions among the nominees: Fabian Ruiz, Ferran Torres, Marc Cucurella, Pau Cubarsí, Lamine Yamal and Rodri. Cucurella and Cubarsí received their first Ballon d’Or nominations, as did Arsenal’s Brazilian defender Gabriel.

Kylian Mbappé is also on the list after a season built around scoring records. He was the leading scorer in La Liga, the Champions League and the 2026 World Cup. The France captain also became the leading scorer in World Cup history with 22 goals. His case rests heavily on that scoring output because other leading candidates won major collective trophies that Mbappé did not. He joins France team-mates Michael Olise, Dayot Upamecano, Dembélé and William Saliba.

The shortlist also includes Lionel Messi, who has now collected 17 nominations. The eight-time winner did not win the 2026 World Cup, but scored eight goals and helped Argentina reach the final during his campaign in the United States. Paris Saint-Germain’s Bradley Barcola and Désiré Doué were left out, while the inclusions of Sadio Mané and Julian Quiñones added further surprise. Mané won the Saudi Arabian championship with Al-Nassr, while Quiñones finished with four World Cup goals and was ninth in the tournament’s scoring standings. The final vote will determine whether collective honours, World Cup impact or individual production carries the most weight in London.