Ballon d’Or 2026: Which Premier League players have been nominated?

Five Premier League players have been shortlisted for the 2026 Ballon d’Or, with the league in contention for a total of 13 awards.

Arsenal, last season’s Premier League champions, have received six nominations across the ceremony, including three players on the main 30-man shortlist – more than any other club.

The Ballon D’Or are one of the game’s most prestigious awards, which is celebrating its 70th anniversary this year, rewarding players, coaches, teams and others for their efforts for clubs and countries throughout the season.

In total, six Premier League clubs have players or coaches nominated for accolades.

Arsenal centre-backs Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba are among the Ballon d’Or nominees after anchoring a defence that conceded only 27 goals and kept clean sheets in half of their 38 league games last season.

Declan Rice joins his teammates on the shortlist after dominating in midfield last season. All three were key players as the Gunners made history in the league and reached the UEFA Champions League and EFL Cup finals.

Manchester City striker Erling Haaland, the 2023 Ballon d’Or runner-up, is shortlisted again after scoring 58 goals in 64 games for club and country.

Haaland won a third Premier League Coca-Cola Golden Boot last season, with 27 goals, lifted the FA Cup and EFL Cup with City, pushed Arsenal close in the league and scored seven goals for Norway at the FIFA World Cup, where he was named in the Team of the Tournament. A win for Haaland would make him the second Man City player to take the prize in three editions after former teammate Rodri in 2024.

Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes is also in contention after a record-breaking campaign. The attacking midfielder set a Premier League assists record with 21 – surpassing Thierry Henry and Kevin De Bruyne for the single-season record – and won the Coca-Cola Premier League Playmaker prize. He added 13 goals for club and country and was the driving force as Man Utd finished third in the table.

Former Premier League players Rodri, who left Man City for Barcelona in the summer, and Marc Cucurella, who joined Real Madrid from Chelsea, also feature on the list. Midfielder Rodri was awarded the World Cup’s Golden Ball – the tournament’s best player – after lifting the trophy with Spain and was influential in City’s domestic cup double. His fellow Spaniard Cucurella was named the World Cup’s best left-back.

Who decides the shortlist?

The Ballon d’Or nominees are selected by journalists at France Football magazine and L’Equipe, a French daily newspaper. They occasionally consult former players.

The final vote is cast by one journalist from each of FIFA’s top 100-ranked nations, each submitting a top 10. Points are assigned, from 15 to 1, and the players are ranked by their total. In the event of a tie, players are separated by most first-place votes.

The winners will be announced at a ceremony in London on 26 October.

Who else is in contention?

Alongside the main prize, there are several other awards available in male and female categories.

Arsenal are shortlisted for Men's Club of the Year following a remarkable season in which they won the Premier League for the first time in 22 years and finished runners-up in both the Champions League and the EFL Cup.

Naturally, the Gunners’ manager Mikel Arteta is a contender for Men’s Coach of the Year. He is joined by Unai Emery, who guided Aston Villa to the UEFA Europa League – the club’s first major European trophy in 44 years – and qualified for the UEFA Champions League.

The nominations do not stop there for Arsenal. David Raya is under consideration for the Yashin Trophy – the award for best goalkeeper named after the only one to win the Ballon d’Or, Lev Yashin. Raya’s 19 clean sheets last season won him a third successive Coca-Cola Premier League Golden Glove.

Emiliano Martinez, who moved from Aston Villa to Chelsea during the transfer window, is a rival for the award after starring for Villa and reaching the World Cup final with Argentina.

Three Premier League players feature on the Kopa Trophy shortlist, awarded to the best player aged under 21.

AFC Bournemouth’s Junior Kroupi (20) became the first teenager to score 13 goals in their debut Premier League season as the club qualified for Europe for the first time.

Twenty-year-old Johan Manzambi, a summer buy for Villa, helped Freiburg reach the Europa League final and scored three times at the World Cup for Switzerland.

Man City’s Ayyoub Bouaddi (18) joins them after starring for Lille and Morocco at the World Cup before his summer transfer.