Ferran Torres Leads Ballon d'Or Nominees After World Cup Triumph

Ferran Torres, the man whose strike shattered Argentina and delivered Spain the World Cup in July, now fronts a stacked 30-man shortlist for the men’s Ballon d’Or.

The 26-year-old forward, who swapped Barcelona for Paris Saint-Germain after that triumph, is one of six Spanish world champions in contention. He is joined by 2024 winner Rodri and last year’s runner-up Lamine Yamal, underlining Spain’s renewed grip on the global game.

PSG power and a new Spanish star

Torres already has a La Liga title from May on his 2025-26 résumé, but his move to PSG has pushed him into the heart of European football’s most star-studded dressing room. In Paris, he links up with last year’s Ballon d’Or holder Ousmane Dembele, part of a frightening PSG contingent on the list.

Dembele is one of nine PSG players nominated who have lifted the Champions League in each of the past two seasons. With Torres now in the building, that makes 10 current PSG players on the 30-man sheet — an extraordinary concentration of elite talent.

Among them, Fabian Ruiz stands alone in one regard: he is the only player to have completed the Champions League and World Cup double in 2026.

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, the electric Georgian winger who lit up PSG’s successful Champions League defence, also features. So do Portuguese midfielders Vitinha and Joao Neves, both instrumental in that European run. All three are rewarded with nominations.

Messi’s 17th nod, Ronaldo misses out

The list still has room for a familiar name. Lionel Messi, already an eight-time Ballon d’Or winner, has been nominated for a 17th time. His long-time rival Cristiano Ronaldo, though, is absent from the shortlist.

Messi dragged an ill-disciplined Argentina all the way to the World Cup final, even as they laboured badly against Spain. Argentina did not manage a shot for almost 120 minutes in a one-sided showpiece, but Messi’s influence over the campaign still proved impossible to ignore.

Harry Kane, captain of England and now a Bundesliga champion with Bayern Munich, makes the cut. So does his club team-mate Michael Olise, the French winger whose form has exploded in Germany.

Jude Bellingham’s place is beyond debate. The Real Madrid midfielder produced a thunderous World Cup for England, scoring seven times. That haul matched Erling Haaland’s and trailed only Messi on eight and Kylian Mbappe on 10.

Mbappe’s numbers tell their own story. He becomes the first player to win the World Cup Golden Boot twice and has surged to the top of the tournament’s all-time scoring charts. His name, predictably, sits on the shortlist.

Lamine Yamal, already in the main race, also appears again in the Young Talent category, an award he has owned for the last two years.

In goal, one of the more romantic tales of the World Cup is recognised. Vozinha, the 40-year-old cornerstone of Cape Verde’s fairytale run, earns a place on the goalkeeper list.

Women’s race wide open as Bonmati misses out

On the women’s side, the picture looks very different at the top. Aitana Bonmati, a three-time winner and long the standard-bearer of the women’s game, does not feature this year after breaking her leg midway through the season.

Her absence opens the door. Alexia Putellas steps back into the spotlight.

The two-time Ballon d’Or winner from 2021 and 2022, now with London City Lionesses after her illustrious Barcelona spell, is on the shortlist again. Barcelona still carry heavy weight in the women’s race: Putellas is one of seven players who lifted the Women’s Champions League with the club in May to be nominated.

Among that group is Poland’s Ewa Pajor, whose brace in the 4-0 demolition of Lyon in the final underlined Barcelona’s dominance and her own big-game pedigree.

Beyond Europe: a global field

Three of the men’s nominees now ply their trade outside Europe. Messi continues to headline at Inter Miami in MLS. Sadio Mane and Julian Quinones represent the Saudi Pro League on the list.

The women’s award stretches even further across the map.

Zambian striker Barbra Banda, starring for Orlando Pride in South Africa, earns recognition. So does Mexican forward Scarlett Camberos, who plays in her home country. Malawian forward Temwa Chawinga and American midfielder Rose Lavelle, both operating in the NWSL, also make the cut, underlining the competition’s global reach.

The stage is set. The winners of both Ballon d’Or crowns will be unveiled at the London Palladium Theatre on October 26, when a World Cup hero, a returning great, or a new face will walk away with football’s most coveted individual prize.