2026 Ballon d’Or nominees named among Champions League squads

The organisers of the 2026 Ballon d’Or have published the nominees selected from Champions League league-phase squads. The list was released after Thursday evening’s league-phase draw and includes two former winners: Paris Saint-Germain’s Ousmane Dembélé, who won in 2025, and Barcelona’s Rodri, the 2024 recipient.

PSG have nine nominees. Dembélé has one nomination, while Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Vitinha have two each. Marquinhos, Fabián Ruiz, Nuno Mendes, Achraf Hakimi and Désiré Doué have one apiece, as does João Neves. Bayern Munich have seven: Harry Kane leads them with seven nominations, followed by Manuel Neuer with four, while Joshua Kimmich, Luis Díaz, Kim Min-Jae, Jamal Musiala and Michael Olise have one each.

Real Madrid’s nine nominees include Kylian Mbappé, who has eight nominations, and Bernardo Silva and Vinícius Júnior, who have four apiece. Jude Bellingham has three, Thibaut Courtois and Trent Alexander-Arnold have two each, and Antonio Rüdiger, Denzel Dumfries and Federico Valverde have one each. Manchester City have five nominees: Erling Haaland has five nominations, Phil Foden and Rúben Dias have three each, Gianluigi Donnarumma has two and Joško Gvardiol has one.

Atlético Madrid’s four nominees are Jan Oblak, with two nominations, plus Julián Álvarez, Ademola Lookman and Alejandro Grimaldo. Liverpool have Virgil van Dijk, with three, Florian Wirtz, with two, and Alisson Becker and Alexis Mac Allister, with one each. Barcelona’s seven are led by four-time nominee Rodri; Lamine Yamal and Pedri have two each, while Frenkie de Jong, Dani Olmo, Raphinha and João Cancelo have one.

Arsenal have six nominees: Martin Ødegaard, Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka have two nominations each, while William Saliba and Viktor Gyökeres have one. Inter Milan have Lautaro Martínez, with four, Nicolò Barella, with two, and Hakan Çalhanoğlu, with one. Borussia Dortmund’s only nominee is Serhou Guirassy.

Manchester United have Matthijs de Ligt, Bruno Fernandes and Mason Mount, all with one nomination. Napoli’s nominees are eight-time nominee Kevin De Bruyne and Scott McTominay. Fenerbahçe have N’Golo Kanté, with three, and Romelu Lukaku, with one. Slavia Prague are the only listed club without a nominated player in their squad.