The 2026 Ballon d'Or ceremony takes place today at the London Palladium theatre. Follow along for live updates as soccer's most prestigious individual accolades are handed out to the game's biggest stars.
What to know
Traditionally staged in France, this year's ceremony - the 70th edition of the Ballon d'Or - is being held in England to honor Stanley Matthews, the legendary English winger who claimed the inaugural award in 1956.
- Time: 4 p.m. ET
- Where to watch: DAZN
The ceremony, streaming on DAZN, begins at 4 p.m. ET, though organizers will start revealing the final Ballon d'Or rankings - from 30th to 11th - earlier in the day on social media. The top 10 (and winner) will be unveiled during the ceremony, which is preceded by red-carpet festivities for players and celebrities in attendance.
French icon Thierry Henry and renowned presenter Kate Scott, part of CBS Sports' beloved Champions League studio panel, will host the show.
Awards and nominees
Men's Ballon d'Or
The most wide-open Ballon d'Or race in years has seemingly coalesced around three main candidates in the buildup to the big day: Harry Kane, Kylian Mbappe, and Lamine Yamal.
The prolific England captain scored 73 goals for club and country in 2025-26, the French superstar established a new record for most goals in World Cup history, and the Spanish phenom helped his country win the 2026 World Cup.
Don't forget about Lionel Messi either. The eight-time Ballon d'Or winner is back on the shortlist this year after his brilliant World Cup display nearly led Argentina to back-to-back titles.
2025 winner: Ousmane Dembele
| Player | Club |
|---|---|
| Jude Bellingham ๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ | Real Madrid |
| Pau Cubarsi ๐ช๐ธ | Barcelona |
| Marc Cucurella ๐ช๐ธ | Real Madrid |
| Ousmane Dembele ๐ซ๐ท | PSG |
| Luis Diaz ๐จ๐ด | Bayern Munich |
| Bruno Fernandes ๐ต๐น | Manchester United |
| Gabriel ๐ง๐ท | Arsenal |
| Erling Haaland ๐ณ๐ด | Manchester City |
| Achraf Hakimi ๐ฒ๐ฆ | PSG |
| Harry Kane ๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ | Bayern Munich |
| Khvicha Kvaratskhelia ๐ฌ๐ช | PSG |
| Lamine Yamal ๐ช๐ธ | Barcelona |
| Sadio Mane ๐ธ๐ณ | Al-Nassr |
| Marquinhos ๐ง๐ท | PSG |
| Lautaro Martinez ๐ฆ๐ท | Inter Milan |
| Kylian Mbappe ๐ซ๐ท | Real Madrid |
| Nuno Mendes ๐ต๐น | PSG |
| Lionel Messi ๐ฆ๐ท | Inter Miami |
| Joao Neves ๐ต๐น | PSG |
| Michael Olise ๐ซ๐ท | Bayern Munich |
| Willian Pacho ๐ช๐จ | PSG |
| Julian Quinones ๐ฒ๐ฝ | Al-Qadsiah |
| Declan Rice ๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ | Arsenal |
| Rodri ๐ช๐ธ | Barcelona |
| Fabian Ruiz ๐ช๐ธ | PSG |
| William Saliba ๐ซ๐ท | Arsenal |
| Ferran Torres ๐ช๐ธ | PSG |
| Dayot Upamecano ๐ซ๐ท | Bayern Munich |
| Vinicius Junior ๐ง๐ท | Real Madrid |
| Vitinha ๐ต๐น | PSG |
Women's Ballon d'Or
Spanish superstar Aitana Bonmati, who suffered a broken leg last year, wasn't nominated after an injury-marred season, ending her streak of three consecutive triumphs in this category.
Alexia Putellas, her compatriot and former Barcelona teammate, is in contention to capture the award for the third time in her own sparkling career.
2025 winner: Aitana Bonmati
| Player | Club |
|---|---|
| Selma Bacha ๐ซ๐ท | OL Lyonnes |
| Barbra Banda ๐ฟ๐ฒ | Orlando Pride |
| Esmee Brugts ๐ณ๐ฑ | Barcelona |
| Klara Buhl ๐ฉ๐ช | Bayern Munich |
| Mariona Caldentey ๐ช๐ธ | Arsenal |
| Scarlett Camberos ๐ฒ๐ฝ | Club America |
| Kerstin Casparij ๐ณ๐ฑ | Manchester City |
| Temwa Chawinga ๐ฒ๐ผ | Kansas City Current |
| Cata Coll ๐ช๐ธ | Barcelona |
| Melchie Dumornay ๐ญ๐น | OL Lyonnes |
| Alex Greenwood ๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ | Manchester City |
| Patri Guijarroย ๐ช๐ธ | Barcelona |
| Caroline Graham Hansen ๐ณ๐ด | Barcelona |
| Pernille Harder ๐ฉ๐ฐ | Bayern Munich |
| Yui Hasegawa ๐ฏ๐ต | Manchester City |
| Rose Lavelle ๐บ๐ธ | Gotham FC |
| Mapi Leon ๐ช๐ธ | London City Lionesses |
| Lorena ๐ง๐ท | Kansas City Current |
| Melvine Malard ๐ซ๐ท | Chelsea |
| Manaka Matsukubo ๐ฏ๐ต | Chelsea |
| Vivianne Miedema ๐ณ๐ฑ | Manchester City |
| Ewa Pajor ๐ต๐ฑ | Barcelona |
| Claudia Pina ๐ช๐ธ | Barcelona |
| Alexia Putellas ๐ช๐ธ | London City Lionesses |
| Wendie Renard ๐ซ๐ท | OL Lyonnes |
| Alessia Russo ๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ | Arsenal |
| Khadija Shaw ๐ฏ๐ฒ | Manchester City |
| Momoko Tanikawa ๐ฏ๐ต | Bayern Munich |
| Caroline Weir ๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ณ๓ ฃ๓ ด๓ ฟ | OL Lyonnes |
| Tessa Wullaert ๐ง๐ช | Como |
Young Talent of the Year
Men's nominees
2025 winner: Lamine Yamal
| Player | Club |
|---|---|
| Kerim Alajbegovic ๐ง๐ฆ | Juventus |
| Ayyoub Bouaddi ๐ฒ๐ฆ | Manchester City |
| Pau Cubarsi ๐ช๐ธ | Barcelona |
| Yan Diomande ๐จ๐ฎ | Real Madrid |
| Lennart Karl ๐ฉ๐ช | Bayern Munich |
| Eli Junior Kroupi ๐ซ๐ท | Bournemouth |
| Lamine Yamal ๐ช๐ธ | Barcelona |
| Johan Manzambi ๐จ๐ญ | Aston Villa |
| Ibrahim Maza ๐ฉ๐ฟ | Bayer Leverkusen |
| Warren Zaire-Emery ๐ซ๐ท | PSG |
Women's nominees
2025 winner: Vicky Lopez
| Player | Club |
|---|---|
| Veerle Buurman ๐ณ๐ฑ | Chelsea |
| Vicky Lopez ๐ช๐ธ | Barcelona |
| Felicia Schroder ๐ธ๐ช | Real Madrid |
| Clara Serrajordi ๐ช๐ธ | Barcelona |
| Lily Yohannes ๐บ๐ธ | OL Lyonnes |
Goalkeeper of the Year
Men's nominees
2025 winner: Gianluigi Donnarumma
| Player | Club |
|---|---|
| Yassine Bounou ๐ฒ๐ฆ | Al-Hilal |
| Thibaut Courtois ๐ง๐ช | Real Madrid |
| Gregor Kobel ๐จ๐ญ | Borussia Dortmund |
| Joan Garcia ๐ช๐ธ | Barcelona |
| Edouard Mendy ๐ธ๐ณ | Al-Ahli |
| Emiliano Martinez ๐ฆ๐ท | Chelsea |
| David Raya ๐ช๐ธ | Arsenal |
| Matvey Safonov ๐ท๐บ | PSG |
| Unai Simon ๐ช๐ธ | Athletic Club |
| Vozinha ๐จ๐ป | Colo-Colo |
Women's nominees
2025 winner: Hannah Hampton
| Player | Club |
|---|---|
| Ann-Katrin Berger ๐ฉ๐ช | Gotham FC |
| Cata Coll ๐ช๐ธ | Barcelona |
| Hannah Hampton ๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ | Chelsea |
| Lorena ๐ง๐ท | Kansas City Current |
| Ayaka Yamashita ๐ฏ๐ต | Manchester City |
Coach of the Year
Men's nominees
2025 winner: Luis Enrique
| Coach | Team |
|---|---|
| Mikel Arteta | Arsenal |
| Luis de la Fuente | Spain |
| Unai Emery | Aston Villa |
| Vincent Kompany | Bayern Munich |
| Luis Enrique | PSG |
Women's nominees
This category recognizes the best coaches in the women's game, rather than just the best female tacticians. Elena Sadiku is the lone female coach among the five contenders.
2025 winner: Sarina Wiegman
| Coach | Team(s) |
|---|---|
| Jonatan Giraldez | OL Lyonnes |
| Andree Jeglertz | Manchester City |
| Nils Nielsen | Japan |
| Pere Romeu | Barcelona |
| Elena Sadiku | Celtic & BK Hacken |
Club of the Year
Men's clubs
- Arsenal
- Bayern Munich
- Bodo/Glimt
- Flamengo
- Paris Saint-Germain
Women's clubs
- Barcelona
- Bayern Munich
- Club America
- Manchester City
- OL Lyonnes
Last year's winners in this category were PSG (men) and Arsenal (women).
