Photo: РБК
France Football has included 30 players on its shortlist for the award. A third of them are from French side PSG – winners of the last two Champions League tournaments.
The full list, published by ‘Sport-Express’, is as follows:
Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid, England)
Pau Kubarsi (Barcelona, Spain)
Marc Cucurella (Real Madrid, Spain)
Ousmane Dembélé (PSG, France)
Luis Díaz (Bayern Munich, Colombia)
Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United, Portugal)
Gabriel (Arsenal, Brazil)
Erling Haaland (Manchester City, Norway national team)
Harry Kane (Bayern Munich, England)
Achraf Hakimi (PSG, Morocco national team)
Lamine Yamal (Barcelona, Spain)
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (PSG, Georgia national team)
Marquinhos (PSG, Brazil national team)
Sadio Mané (Al-Nassr, Senegal national team)
Lautaro Martínez (Inter, Argentina national team)
Kylian Mbappé (Real Madrid, France)
Nuno Mendes (PSG, Portugal national team)
Lionel Messi (Inter Miami, Argentina national team)
Michael Olise (Bayern Munich, France national team)
João Neves (PSG, Portugal)
Julian Quinoñez (Al-Qadisiyah, Mexico)
Villian Pacho (PSG, Ecuador national team)
Declan Rice (Arsenal, England)
Rodri (Barcelona, Spain national team)
Fabián Ruiz (PSG, Spain)
Ferran Torres (PSG, Spain national team)
William Saliba (Arsenal, France national team)
Dayot Upamecano (Bayern Munich, France)
Vinícius Júnior (Real Madrid, Brazil national team)
Vitinha (PSG, Portugal)
Favourites and the overlooked
Commentators note that 39-year-old Argentina striker Lionel Messi has once again made the shortlist. This marks his 17th appearance on the list of nominees. Only Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo has been nominated more times (18). However, the 41-year-old Al-Nassr forward, who has already announced his retirement at the end of the current season, has been left off the shortlist for the fourth year running.
As for Messi, according to many analysts, he has a very real chance of winning the Ballon d’Or once again – for the ninth time. Last season, he won the league title with Inter Miami and reached the final of the 2026 World Cup with the Argentina national team, where they lost to Spain (0–1). As reported by Logos Press, during the 2026 World Cup, Messi set a number of fantastic records in the tournament’s final stages, which significantly boosted his chances of winning yet another award for the world’s best player.
However, France Football’s Top 30 list omits several players who, in the opinion of many experts, should feature in the extended shortlist. Among them is Raphinha (Barcelona, Brazil national team), who finished second in last year’s Ballon d’Or vote, as well as another Barcelona player, Pedri, who won the World Cup with the Spanish national team and made a significant contribution to that success.
Others cited as having been unfairly overlooked include Bradley Barcola (Liverpool / PSG, France), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal, England), Martin Ødegaard (Arsenal, Norway national team), David Raya (Arsenal, Spain national team) and Enzo Fernández (Manchester City / Chelsea, Argentina national team).
Although Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) have 10 nominees on the list, bookmakers do not consider them among the main favourites for the award. Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane is considered the main contender for the Ballon d’Or (64 per cent) – the Englishman scored 73 goals in the 2025/26 season, won the German treble with Munich and took bronze at the 2026 World Cup.
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