"Golden Ball"-2026: where and when to watch, who is the favorite

In 2026, the Golden Ball ceremony will be held for the first time in London, at the Palladium Theatre. The event is dedicated to the 70th anniversary of the award.

The choice of place is associated with the first winner of the prize - English football player Stanley Matthews. The Ballon d'Or was founded by France Football magazine in 1956.

Date and broadcast of the ceremony

The ceremony will take place on October 26. In Russia, the ceremony can be seen in the online cinema Okko. The beginning of the red carpet is scheduled for 21:00 GMT, the official part - at 23:00 GMT.

Leading will be the legendary French football player Thierry Henry and British journalist Kate Scott.

Awards awarded

The ceremony will determine the best footballer and football player in the world. Also awarded are the Cop Trophy (best young player), Goalkeeper of the Year (formerly Yashin Trophy), Gerd Muller Trophy (best scorer), Johan Cruyff Trophy (best coach), Socrates Award (for contributions to social and charitable projects) and Best Club of the Year award (best men's and women's team).

For each nomination, a unique trophy is produced annually, which remains with the laureate.

All candidates for the Golden Ball among men

Jude Bellingham (England, Real) Pau Coubarsi (Spain, Barcelona) Marc Cukurella (Spain, Chelsea/Real) Usmane Dembele (France, Paris Saint-Germain) Luis Diaz (Colombia, Bayern) Bruno Fernandesh (Portugal, Manchester United) Gabriel (Arsenal) Erling Håland (Norway, Manchester City, Jargenia (Parrazelina, Jarigali) "Spaine (Parraspaine),"Spaña, Jarijarassellía (Parcelaine)"Spaine (Parraspaine)"Spaña, "Jorca, "Jernaudre, "Jarraspaine-Barcelaine-Barcelaine")

In the estimated period of the season 2025/2026 entered the final part of the world Cup-2026 – the results of the tournament could be decisive for the jury.

Ten PSG players were shortlisted out of the top 30 - a historic record for the club as part of the award.

Also among the nominees are three players who have already received this prestigious award, namely eight-time record holder Lionel Messi, current holder Usman Dembele and 2024 laureate Rodri.

At the same time, the Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo for the fourth year in a row is not included in the list of nominees.

The main favorites at the Golden Ball

Harry Kane had a particularly outstanding season of 61 goals in 51 games. With Bayern he won a treble (Bundesliga, Cup and Super Cup of Germany), and at the World Cup-2026 with six goals became a bronze medalist.

As for Lionel Messi, his bright matches for Argentina at the 2026 World Cup (where the team only slightly missed the second consecutive victory) and the championship with Inter Miami in the MLS were enough to get among the contenders.

Among the candidates is 19-year-old Lamin Yamal, who may become the youngest winner of the award in history. It is symbolic that as a baby he was photographed with Messi at the charity event “Barcelona” – and years later with the Spanish national team defeated Argentina with Messi in the final of the World Cup-2026. The same year he won La Liga with Barcelona.

French forward Kylian Mbappe is among the top three contenders, despite the lack of major team trophies. He became the top scorer of the Champions League (15 goals) and the 2026 World Cup (10 goals), thereby repeating the record of Gerd Mueller in 1970.

For the first time, the Russian was nominated for the best goalkeeper in the world

In September, UEFA and the Golden Ball organizing committee renamed the award to the best goalkeeper from Trophy Yashin to Goalkeeper of the Year.

Matvey Safonov will appear in the fight for the best goalkeeper in the world - this is a historic moment, since the Russian goalkeeper was shortlisted for the first time since the prize was established.

Last season brought Safonov and PSG victories in the Champions League, the French Championship, the Intercontinental Cup, the French Super Cup and the UEFA Super Cup.

Also, Matvey became the first goalkeeper in history to reflect four penalties in a row in the series at the FIFA tournament (in the final of the Intercontinental Cup against Flamengo). In just 27 matches, he conceded 28 goals and defended 12 times by zero.

The process of determining the winners of the Golden Ball

Winners are determined by the results of performances in the period from August 3, 2025 to July 19, 2026, excluding the beginning of the current season. The process begins with the formation of a shortlist of 30 players, which includes: the editorial board of France Football and L’Équipe, the best voting journalist of the previous year (in 2026 it is a representative of Costa Rica), as well as the official ambassadors of UEFA – Luis Figo and Fabio Capello (for the men’s award) and Nadine Kessler (for women’s).

After that, an international jury consisting of specialized sports journalists (one from the country) starts voting. Each jury member selects ten players out of 30, after which points are distributed based on the results of the seats taken.

The focus is on individual performances and team contributions, as well as team achievements, titles and fair play principles. All points scored are summed up. The winner of the award is the player who scored the most points.

When points are equal, the number of first places is taken into account, then the second and so on. Fan surveys on the site are a separate activity and do not affect official results.

The current owners of the Golden Ball

French striker Ousmane Dembele of PSG is the current winner of the Golden Ball (2025). Together with the club, he won the Champions League for the first time in the 2024/25 season, and scored a gold double domestically. Dembele himself scored 37 goals and 15 assists in all tournaments during the season.

Last year, among women, the award was taken by Spanish midfielder Aitana Bonmati from Barcelona. She won the Ballon d'Or three years in a row - in 2023, 2024 and 2025. However, this year Bonmati was not included in the list of the top 30 players due to a serious injury.