Lamine Yamal named among Ballon d'Or 2026 nominees
Barcelona place three players on France Football's 30-man Ballon d'Or shortlist, while Pedri, Dani Olmo and Raphinha miss out.
France Football has named the 30 nominees for the 2025 Ballon d'Or, and Barcelona provide three of them: Lamine Yamal, Pau Cubarsí and Rodri.
Lamine Yamal, 19, picks up his third nomination. He arrives at this campaign's list off the back of a season under Hansi Flick and a World Cup win with Spain. No Barcelona player has taken the Ballon d'Or since Leo Messi won his sixth in 2019.
Cubarsí is regarded as the favourite for the Young Talent award. Three Barcelona names are missing from the 30, however: Pedri, Dani Olmo and Raphinha. Pedri's absence has drawn particular comment given his season for the club and his World Cup title with Spain, even if his form at the tournament fell short of his usual level.
The winner will be announced on 26 October at 21:00, decided by a vote of 100 journalists from the 100 nations top of the FIFA rankings. For the first time, the ceremony moves outside France, to London, marking the 70th edition of the award and honouring Sir Stanley Matthews, its first winner back in 1956.
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Sources 2
- Tres nominados del Barça al Balón de Oro y tres sorprendentes ausencias mundodeportivo.com
- Xavier Bosch: me ha gustado y no me ha gustado mundodeportivo.com