Ballon d’Or 2026: Ranking the Favorites to Win the Yashin Trophy

Ten goalkeepers have made the shortlist for the Yashin Trophy, as announced on Tuesday.

The award, seen as the top individual honor for keepers, was created by France Football in 2019 as part of an expansion of their annual Ballon d’Or ceremony.

Gianluigi Donnarumma lifted the prize for the second time last year after his heroics with Paris Saint-Germain but is not even among the nominees this time around with the winner to be crowned in London on Oct. 26.

Here’s a breakdown of 2026’s runners and riders, ranked by their likelihood of taking home the trophy.

Ballon d’Or Award Shortlists

• Ballon d'Or Nominees (Men’s and Women's)

• Kopa Trophy Nominees (Men’s and Women’s

• Yashin Trophy Nominees (Men’s and Women’s Goalkeeper of the Year)

• Club of the Year Nominees (Men’s and Women’s

• Coach of the Year Nominees (Men’s and Women’s)

10. Vozinha

Club: Chaves/Colo-Colo
Honors: N/A

Were France Football to introduce an award for best social media growth, Vozinha would be a shoo-in.

The 40-year-old went from being a little-known keeper at the tail end of his career to having nearly 30 million followers on Instagram in the space of a few weeks this summer.

His acrobatic performances for Cabo Verde at the World Cup catapulted him into the spotlight and helped his side reach the round of 32—they ultimately exited the competition without losing a game in 90 minutes.

Since then, Vozinha has joined Chilean giants Colo-Colo for a career swan song.

9. Thibaut Courtois

Club: Real Madrid
Honors: N/A

Unquestionably one of the world’s very best goalkeepers, this has not been a standout year for Courtois by his high standards.

The Belgian endured another trophyless season at Real Madrid, though his importance to the team was highlighted when he missed a key section of 2025–26 with injury during the spring.

It was a similar story for Belgium at the World Cup, with the Red Devils losing their quarterfinal against Spain after Courtois went off with an injury.

He ranked second in La Liga for clean sheets and fourth for save percentage last season.

8. Yassine Bounou

Club: Al Hilal
Honors: King’s Cup, Africa Cup of Nations

The Canada-born stopper proved he’s still got it at the age of 35, putting in some showreel performances at the summer’s World Cup as Morocco reached the quarterfinals.

Prior to that he, technically, became an Africa Cup of Nations winner at the start of this year—winning the Golden Glove at the home tournament.

He also bagged a King’s Cup with his club side in Saudi Arabia.

7. Édouard Mendy

Club: Al Ahli
Honors: AFC Champions League

The Senegalese star has now won back-to-back AFC Champions League titles, keeping a clean sheet in this season’s final.

He also won the Saudi Pro League Golden Glove for 2026, bolstering his credentials as one of the finest keepers operating outside of Europe right now.

The 34-year-old, who was named runner-up in the 2021 Yashin Trophy also played in the controversial Africa Cup of Nations final—famously saving Brahim Díaz’s late penalty.

6. Emiliano Martínez

Club: Aston Villa/Chelsea
Honors: Europa League

It’s been another big season for Martínez, who won the Europa League with Aston Villa, played in his second World Cup final with Argentina and earned a transfer to Chelsea.

Still, the two-time previous winner of the Yashin Trophy is probably not among the big favorites for the award this year.

While his save percentage in 2025–26 stood at an impressive 70.9%, he ranked just 15th for clean sheets in the Premier League.

5. Gregor Kobel

Club: Borussia Dortmund
Honors: N/A

The Swiss stopper is another on the shortlist who impressed at the World Cup, keeping two clean sheets as Switzerland went as far as the quarterfinals.

Only two keepers produced more saves than Kobel in North America, while he also made the decisive stop from Cucho Hernández’s penalty in the shootout victory over Colombia in the round of 16.

In the Bundesliga in 2025–26, no keeper kept more than his 15 clean sheets.

4. Matvey Safonov

Matvey Safonov after PSG's victory against Flamengo — Matvey Safonov has made PSG’s transition from Gianluigi Donnarumma appear seamless. | Jose Hernandez/Anadolu via Getty Images

Club: PSG
Honors: Ligue 1, Champions League, UEFA Super Cup

Brought in initially as a backup option, Safonov has grown in stature at Paris Saint-Germain, eventually convincing Luis Enrique of his credentials as the man to inherit the position as the club’s first-choice goalkeeper following Gianluigi Donnarumma’s departure.

The Russian made key saves during the defending champions’ Champions League run—particularly in a barnstorming semifinal against Bayern Munich.

He did not, however, make a save in the penalty shootout victory over Arsenal in the final, with both Eberechi Eze and Gabriel Magalhães off target.

3. David Raya

Club: Arsenal
Honors: Premier League, World Cup

It was a another stellar season for Raya, who claimed his third straight Premier League Golden Glove, while keeping 19 clean sheets and conceding just 26 goals in 2025–26.

His presence, reflexes and distribution proved key foundations for Mikel Arteta’s near-unbeatable defense as they claimed the Premier League title for first time in over 20 years.

The Spaniard was also named in the Champions League Team of the Season and was part of Spain’s victorious World Cup squad.

2. Unai Simón

Club: Athletic Club
Honors: World Cup

With an embarrassment of options to pick from ahead of the World Cup, Spain manager Luis de la Fuente stuck to his guns and kept Simón as his No. 1 for the tournament despite a so-so club season.

The 29-year-old ended up enjoying a historic tournament, conceding just one goal in eight games as Spain lifted the trophy.

His seven clean sheets in North America is a World Cup record, and earned him the Golden Glove.

1. Joan García

Club: Barcelona
Honors: La Liga, Supercopa de España, World Cup

The Catalan keeper cleaned up in his first season as a Barcelona player following a €25 million ($29 million) move from Espanyol.

As well as winning La Liga, García was awarded with the Zamora Trophy (for Spain’s best goalkeeper of the season) as well as the Save of the Season award.

No keeper had a higher save percentage than his 77.9% in 2025–26.

Constricted to the bench for the World Cup this summer, he still picked up a winners medal as a member of Spain’s squad.

Add us as a preferred source on Google