Ferran Torres Leads Ballon d'Or Shortlist After World Cup Glory
Ferran Torres, the man who struck the goal that broke Argentina and delivered Spain the World Cup in July, now fronts football’s most prestigious roll call.
The 26-year-old forward, freshly installed at Paris Saint-Germain, headlines a 30-man shortlist for the men’s Ballon d’Or unveiled in Paris on Tuesday. His name sits among six Spanish world champions, a group that also features 2024 winner Rodri and last year’s runner-up, the prodigious Lamine Yamal.
Torres arrives on this list with a double crown on his head. He lifted La Liga with Barcelona in May before sealing his move to PSG, where he now joins forces with last year’s Ballon d’Or holder Ousmane Dembele. The France international is one of nine PSG players nominated after the club’s back-to-back Champions League triumphs. With Torres added to the mix, the French giants boast 10 current players in contention.
From that Paris-heavy cast, Fabian Ruiz stands alone in one regard: he is the only player on the list to have won both the Champions League and the 2026 World Cup. PSG’s European defence also pushed other names into the spotlight. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, the electric Georgian winger, lit up the competition and joins Portuguese midfield duo Vitinha and Joao Neves among the nominees.
Messi returns, Ronaldo omitted
The Ballon d’Or storylines rarely escape Lionel Messi, and this year is no different. The eight-time winner has been nominated for a record 17th time. Cristiano Ronaldo, his long-time rival in this arena, is absent from the shortlist.
Messi’s campaign included driving an ill-disciplined Argentina side all the way to the World Cup final, where they laboured for almost 120 minutes before registering a shot in a one-sided defeat to Spain. Even so, his influence and numbers kept him in the frame.
World Cup form also propelled several others. Jude Bellingham’s nomination follows a commanding tournament with England, where the Real Madrid midfielder scored seven goals. That tally matched Erling Haaland’s and was bettered only by Messi’s eight and Kylian Mbappe’s 10.
Mbappe’s name, inevitably, is there. The France star became the first player to win the World Cup Golden Boot twice and surged to the top of the tournament’s all-time scoring charts, reinforcing his status as the game’s most ruthless big-stage finisher.
England captain Harry Kane also features after steering Bayern Munich to the Bundesliga title, while his French club team-mate Michael Olise is recognised for his explosive work on the wing.
Yamal, already a central figure in the senior list, appears again in the Young Talent category. He has owned that award for the past two years and now chases a third straight crown.
At the other end of the age spectrum, 40-year-old Vozinha is rewarded for his heroics in Cape Verde’s remarkable World Cup run, earning a place among the goalkeeping nominees.
Putellas returns, Bonmati misses out
On the women’s side, the picture shifts. Aitana Bonmati, a three-time Ballon d’Or winner and the defining midfielder of her generation, does not make the shortlist after suffering a broken leg midway through the season. Her absence opens the door for others, but one familiar name remains.
Alexia Putellas, the 2021 and 2022 winner and now with London City Lionesses after her Barcelona exit, is back in the frame. She is one of seven players who lifted the women’s Champions League with Barcelona in May and now find themselves on the list.
That Barcelona side crushed Lyon 4-0 in the final, a night illuminated by Poland forward Ewa Pajor, who scored twice and also earns a nomination.
The women’s award stretches far beyond Europe’s traditional power bases. Zambian forward Barbra Banda, starring for Orlando Pride in South Africa, is included. So is Mexican attacker Scarlett Camberos, who plays in her homeland, along with Malawian striker Temwa Chawinga and American midfielder Rose Lavelle, both operating in the NWSL.
Global spread, new power centres
The men’s shortlist still leans heavily towards Europe, but not entirely. Messi now plays for Inter Miami in MLS, while Sadio Mane and Julian Quinones represent the Saudi league among the nominees.
Those names underline how the Ballon d’Or conversation is no longer confined to a single continent, even if the Champions League and World Cup continue to shape the debate more than anything else.
On October 26, at the London Palladium Theatre, the ballots will finally speak. Messi’s pursuit of a ninth crown, Torres’ surge from World Cup match-winner to Ballon d’Or frontrunner, PSG’s domination of the shortlist, Putellas’ push for a third title in the women’s game — all of it comes to a head on one stage.
By the end of that night, football’s next set of standard-bearers will be etched into history.
