How Does Ballon d'Or Voting Work? Nominees and Format Explained
The Ballon d’Or, soccer’s most prestigious individual prize, underwent a historic change in 2022 when France Football announced the award would no longer be based on a player’s performances across the calendar year.
Instead, the award is now judged on a player’s impact over the course of a single season—a logical switch that has simplified comparisons and made the process feel more relevant.
Since the change, Karim Benzema, Lionel Messi, Rodri and Ousmane Dembélé have each lifted the trophy. The latter three are all in serious contention to win it again in 2026, but plenty of other household names—and a few surprise contenders—are in with a shout, too.
Meanwhile, the Ballon d’Or Féminin—introduced in 2018 and awarded to the best women’s player in the world—follows the same format. Barcelona’s Aitana Bonmatí has won each of the last three editions, but the accolade will go to someone else in 2026.
Here are the nominees for both awards and how the voting process works.
2026 Ballon d'Or Nominees
As is customary, the 2026 Ballon d’Or shortlist features 30 of the world’s finest players, with the nominees representing a truly global spread of soccer’s biggest leagues, from the Premier League, La Liga, Ligue 1, Serie A and Bundesliga to Major League Soccer and the Saudi Pro League.
Barcelona have three players in contention, with Lamine Yamal joined by center back Pau Cubarsí and summer arrival Rodri, who made the move from Manchester City. Ferran Torres also earned a nomination for his performances in Catalonia, although he has since departed for PSG, where he becomes one of 10 nominees representing the French champions.
Real Madrid’s star-studded squad is similarly prominent, with Marc Cucurella bringing their total number of nominees to four alongside Kylian Mbappé, Vinícius Júnior and Jude Bellingham.
Bayern Munich also boasts four contenders in Harry Kane, Luis Díaz, Michael Olise and Dayot Upamecano, while Lionel Messi is the lone representative of MLS after another standout campaign with Inter Miami.
Full List of 2026 Ballon d'Or Nominees
Player | Team | Nation |
|---|---|---|
Jude Bellingham | Real Madrid | England |
Pau Cubarsí | Barcelona | Spain |
Marc Cucurella | Chelsea/Real Madrid | Spain |
Ousmane Dembélé | Paris Saint-Germain | France |
Luis Díaz | Bayern Munich | Colombia |
Bruno Fernandes | Manchester United | Portugal |
Gabriel | Arsenal | Brazil |
Erling Haaland | Manchester City | Norway |
Achraf Hakimi | Paris Saint-Germain | Morocco |
Harry Kane | Bayern Munich | England |
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia | Paris Saint-Germain | Georgia |
Lamine Yamal | Barcelona | Spain |
Sadio Mané | Al Nassr | Senegal |
Marquinhos | Paris Saint-Germain | Brazil |
Lautaro Martínez | Inter Milan | Argentina |
Kylian Mbappé | Real Madrid | France |
Nuno Mendes | Paris Saint-Germain | Portugal |
Lionel Messi | Inter Miami | Argentina |
João Neves | Paris Saint-Germain | Portugal |
Michael Olise | Bayern Munich | France |
Willian Pacho | Paris Saint-Germain | Colombia |
Julián Quiñones | Al Qadsiah | Mexico |
Declan Rice | Arsenal | England |
Rodri | Manchester City/Barcelona | Spain |
Fabián Ruiz | Paris Saint-Germain | Spain |
William Saliba | Arsenal | France |
Ferran Torres | Barcelona/Paris Saint-Germain | Spain |
Dayot Upamecano | Bayern Munich | France |
Vinícius Júnior | Real Madrid | Brazil |
Vitinha | Paris Saint-Germain | Portugal |
2026 Ballon d'Or Féminin Nominees
The 2026 Ballon d’Or Féminin shortlist is once again packed with 30 of the best players in women’s soccer, but this year’s race could have a very different ending.
Aitana Bonmatí’s injury rules her out of the running for a fourth straight crown, meaning we are guaranteed a new winner—and potentially only the fifth different player ever to lift the award.
Alexia Putellas remains among the favorites despite no longer being at Barcelona, having joined London City Lionesses in the summer. The reigning Spanish giants will instead look to Ewa Pajor, while Patri Guijarro and Caroline Graham Hansen are also in contention.
Elsewhere, OL Lyonnes’ Melchie Dumornay joins Bayern Munich’s Pernille Harder and Manchester City star Khadija Shaw among the leading contenders, while the NWSL has four nominees: Temwa Chawinga, Lorena, Rose Lavelle and Barbra Banda.
With Bonmatí absent, the door is wide open—and for once, there is no obvious answer to who walks through it.
Full List of 2026 Ballon d'Or Féminin Nominees
Player | Team | Nation |
|---|---|---|
Selma Bacha | OL Lyonnes | France |
Barbra Banda | Orlando Pride | Zambia |
Klara Bühl | Bayern Munich | Germany |
Esmee Brugts | Barcelona | Netherlands |
Mariona Caldentey | Arsenal | Spain |
Scarlett Camberos | Club América | Mexico |
Kerstin Casparij | Manchester City | Netherlands |
Temwa Chawinga | Kansas City Current | Malawi |
Cata Coll | Barcelona | Spain |
Melchie Dumornay | OL Lyonnes | Haiti |
Caroline Graham Hansen | Barcelona | Norway |
Alex Greenwood | Manchester City | England |
Patri Guijarro | Barcelona | Spain |
Pernille Harder | Bayern Munich | Denmark |
Yui Hasegawa | Manchester City | Japan |
Rose Lavelle | Gotham FC | United States |
Mapi León | Barcelona/London City Lionesses | Spain |
Lorena | Kansas City Current | Brazil |
Melvine Malard | Manchester United/Chelsea | France |
Manaka Matsukubo | North Carolina Courage/Chelsea | Japan |
Vivianne Miedema | Manchester City | Netherlands |
Ewa Pajor | Barcelona | Poland |
Clàudia Pina | Barcelona | Spain |
Alexia Putellas | Barcelona/London City Lionesses | Spain |
Wendie Renard | OL Lyonnes | France |
Alessia Russo | Arsenal | England |
Khadija Shaw | Manchester City | Jamaica |
Momoko Tanikawa | Bayern Munich | Japan |
Caroline Weir | Real Madrid/OL Lyonnes | Scotland |
Tessa Wullaert | Inter Milan/Como | Belgium |
2026 Ballon d'Or Voting Format
The Ballon d'Or victor is both decided by 100 journalists from FIFA's 100 top-ranked member nations. Each journalist makes their top 10 picks from each 30-person shortlist.
Each ranking is assigned a points value:
- 1st: 15 points
- 2nd: 12 points
- 3rd: 10 points
- 4th: 8 points
- 5th: 7 points
- 6th: 5 points
- 7th: 4 points
- 8th: 3 points
- 9th: 2 points
- 10th: 1 point
When the votes are tallied, the player with the most points is named that year’s Ballon d’Or winner.
Voting for the Ballon d’Or Féminin follows the same basic system as the men’s award, with a pre-selected shortlist and a jury of journalists. The key difference is scale: only 50 journalists from the top-ranked nations are invited to vote, compared to 100 for the men’s prize.
Who Won the 2025 Ballon d'Or?
The 2026 Ballon d’Or went to PSG forward Ousmane Dembélé, with the Frenchman edging out Barcelona wonderkid Lamine Yamal by 1,380 points to 1,059 after a sensational season in the French capital.
Dembélé was virtually unstoppable for PSG, scoring 35 goals and providing 16 assists as he helped fire the club to a historic quadruple: Ligue 1, the Coupe de France, the Trophée des Champions and, most importantly, their first-ever Champions League title.
After years of questions about whether he could consistently fulfill his enormous potential, Dembélé finally put it all together—and the Ballon d’Or was the ultimate reward.
Recent Ballon d'Or Winners
Year | Winner | Club(s) |
|---|---|---|
2025 | Ousmane Dembélé | PSG |
2024 | Rodri | Manchester City |
2023 | Lionel Messi (8) | PSG/Inter Miami |
2022 | Karim Benzema | Real Madrid |
2021 | Lionel Messi (7) | Barcelona |
2020 | - | - |
2019 | Lionel Messi (6) | Barcelona |
2018 | Luka Modric | Real Madrid |
2017 | Cristiano Ronaldo (5) | Real Madrid |
2016 | Cristiano Ronaldo (4) | Real Madrid |
2015 | Lionel Messi (5) | Barcelona |
2014 | Cristiano Ronaldo (3) | Real Madrid |
Who Won the 2025 Ballon d'Or Féminin?
The 2025 Ballon d’Or Féminin was won by Barcelona and Spain midfielder Aitana Bonmatí, earning her a remarkable third consecutive triumph.
Bonmatí’s latest victory came after another dominant season for club and country, helping Barcelona claim Liga F, the Copa de la Reina and the Supercopa de España Femenina, while also playing a key role for Spain at the 2025 UEFA Women’s Championship.
La Roja reached the final before ultimately falling to England, but Bonmatí’s influence throughout the campaign was enough to cement her place at the top of the women’s game once again.
Ballon d'Or Féminin Winners
Year | Player | Club |
|---|---|---|
2025 | Aitana Bonmati (3) | Barcelona |
2024 | Aitana Bonmati (2) | Barcelona |
2023 | Aitana Bonmati | Barcelona |
2022 | Alexia Putellas (2) | Barcelona |
2021 | Alexia Putellas | Barcelona |
2020 | - | - |
2019 | Megan Rapinoe | Reign FC |
2018 | Ada Hegerberg | Lyon |
READ MORE ON THE RECENT HISTORY OF THE BALLON D’OR
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