Ballon d’Or nomination, Barcelona, Real Madrid, PSG, Bayern Munich latest and more…

The nominees for this year’s Ballon d’Or are set to be announced today, with Harry Kane odds-on to pick up the most sought-after individual prize in world football.

England forward, Kane is excited to be in contention for the 70th Ballon d’Or and says he is “extremely proud” of his stunning goalscoring campaign for Bayern Munich last season.

A total of 30 players will make the shortlist. Stay with us for all the nominees across all categories.

The 2026 Ballon d’Or ceremony takes place on October 26, 2026, in London, with the 30-player shortlists being announced today, September 8, 2026.

The likes of Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes, who broke the Premier League assist record in the 2025/26 season, won the player of the year award fairly has the potential to be amongst the top candidates.

Again, Paris Saint-Germain midfield orchestrator, Vitinha, who missed out on the prestigious award last year to his team mate Ousmane Dembele, is one of the names that can not be overlooked as well in this year’s awards.

Nominees: Men’s Club of the Year

Arsenal – Premier League Champions. Lost the Champions League final on penalties.
Bayern Munich – Lost one game all season in the league and lost to PSG in the Champions League semi-final.
Bodo/Glimt – surprise package in Europe, reaching the last-16 of the Champions League, beating beating Man City, Atletico Madrid and Inter Milan along the way.
Flamengo – Won the 2025 Copa Libertadores for the third time in six years. Led by Filipe Luis, they won their 40th Campeonato Carioca.
PSG – Last year’s winners retained the Champions League and Ligue 1 this year.

Nominees: Women’s Club of the Year

FC Barcelona – The two times winners won the quadruple last season.
Bayern Munich – They woon the domestic treble last season and were undefeated for 32 domestic games.
Club America – Became the first Mexican women’s team to win the Champions Cup and also won the Campeon de Campeonas title/
Manchester City – Won the league and cup double.
OL Lyonnes – Won the domestic treble and reached the Champions League final.

Some pundits have predicted a top three of Mbappe, Kane and Kvaratskhelia. Although Mbappe may not have a trophy to his name, but this is an individual award and it needs to go back to being about the best individual, and not “who plays for the best team”.

The French captain’s consistency was once again laid bare, unbelievable, especially at the world cup, and if there is anyone capable of staying in contention and potentially winning the French Magazine’s individual award, he can’t be overlooked, for various reasons.