The French publication France Football has officially released the list of candidates for the most prestigious individual award in world football for the 2025/26 season. This is reported by Sport RBC.UA, citing the award's official website. This year the trophy marks its 70th anniversary: the first Ballon d'Or was awarded back in 1956, and it was on this occasion that the organizers introduced a number of innovations, including moving the award ceremony outside of France.
Ceremony in London: a Historic Decision
The winner in the main category will be announced on October 26 at a ceremony in London. According to the publication, this is the first time in the award's seventy-year history that the France Football Ballon d'Or will be presented outside of France. The choice of the UK's capital is symbolic and serves as a tribute to the legendary Stanley Matthews, who became the first recipient of the award in 1956. Thus, the anniversary season combines a retrospective with a refresh of the presentation format.
Harry Kane — the Main Favorite
According to Sport RBC.UA materials, the main contender for the trophy is Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane, who scored 73 goals for his club and national team last season. In addition to him, high chances of winning the award are given to Kylian Mbappé, Erling Haaland, Rodri, Jude Bellingham, Lamine Yamal, Vitinha, and the current holder of the trophy, Ousmane Dembélé. Lionel Messi deserves a separate mention, as the source claims he is competing for his ninth Ballon d'Or.
PSG — the Most Represented Club
The largest representation among the nominees is held, according to the publication, by the current Champions League winner — Parisian PSG. The Parisian club is represented by as many as nine players, among them summer signing Ferran Torres, who, as noted in the article, scored the decisive goal in the World Cup final. Such a concentration of representatives from a single club in the top list underscores the team's collective success last season and its influence on the individual race for the award.
Contradictory Data
When comparing versions from different publications, discrepancies in the exact composition of the list are noted. Thus, Sport Express emphasizes in its headline that Messi, Yamal, Dembélé, Kane, and Kvara茨khelia made it into the top 30, and also notes the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo and Rafinha from the list — meanwhile, Khvicha Kvara茨khelia is not mentioned in the main text of Sport RBC.UA. In addition, in the Sport RBC.UA article PSG is named the current Champions League winner, while Ferran Torres's decisive goal is linked to the World Cup final, which appears as an inconsistency in the wording and may indicate an error in the original source. Both versions are presented openly; the final and complete top-30 list is recommended to be verified against the official France Football website.
Women's Football and Other Categories
In addition to the main men's award, the organizers announced candidates in other categories as well. At the London ceremony, prizes will also be awarded to representatives of women's football, continuing France Football's line of equal coverage of both competitions. The results of all nominations will be known on October 26, when the anniversary award ceremony will take place in London.
