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The nominees for the 2026 Ballon d’Or award have on Tuesday been officially unveiled. And the shortlist features a host of leading names from Spanish football’s two headline clubs.
Beginning with Hansi Flick’s Barcelona, the reigning La Liga champions are represented by a trio of names, in the form of Lamine Yamal, Pau Cubarsí and summer signing Rodri.
Ferran Torres, who has since departed for Paris Saint-Germain, is also in the running, though Pedri and Raphinha, somewhat surprisingly, have been left off the list of candidates.
Turning focus to Real Madrid, and a quartet of Blancos stars could yet be named world football’s standout player for the last 12 months. From José Mourinho’s squad, all of Jude Bellingham, Kylian Mbappé, Vinícius Jr. and Marc Cucurella make the cut.
Elsewhere, Barcelona icon Lionel Messi is also included, alongside Spanish World Cup winner Fabián Ruiz of Paris Saint-Germain.
Check out the 30-man shortlist for the 2026 Ballon d’Or in full below:
Conor Laird – GSFN
