Ferran Torres Leads Ballon d'Or Contenders After World Cup Triumph
Ferran Torres, the man whose strike shattered Argentina and delivered Spain the World Cup in July, now fronts football’s most prestigious roll call.
On Tuesday in Paris, the 26-year-old new Paris Saint-Germain forward was named among 30 contenders for the men’s Ballon d’Or, the latest milestone in a year that has already changed his career and his status in the game.
He is far from the only Spanish world champion in the frame. Six members of that World Cup-winning squad make the list, including 2024 Ballon d’Or holder Rodri and last year’s runner-up Lamine Yamal, the teenager who continues to bend records to his will.
Torres, PSG and a growing powerhouse
Torres’ season already carried weight before his summer move. He lifted La Liga with Barcelona in May, then swapped Catalonia for the French capital, where he now joins forces with last year’s Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembele at PSG.
Dembele, a France international, is one of nine PSG players nominated after the club’s back-to-back Champions League triumphs over the past two seasons. With Torres added to the mix, the French champions now boast 10 current players on the 30-man list, a statement of dominance as much as depth.
Among that PSG contingent, Fabian Ruiz stands alone in one regard: he is the only player on the shortlist to have won both the Champions League and the World Cup in 2026.
PSG’s European campaign also thrust Khvicha Kvaratskhelia into the spotlight. The flying Georgian winger was one of the standout figures in their successful Champions League defence, and he is joined on the list by Portuguese midfield duo Vitinha and Joao Neves, who helped drive the team through the competition’s sharpest edges.
Messi returns, Ronaldo absent
One name simply refuses to leave this stage. Lionel Messi, already an eight-time Ballon d’Or winner, has been nominated for a record 17th time.
His long-time rival is missing. Cristiano Ronaldo does not feature on this year’s list, a stark contrast to the era when their duopoly defined the award.
Messi’s latest nomination comes off the back of another World Cup run with Argentina. He dragged an ill-disciplined side all the way to the final, only for them to be outplayed by Spain. Argentina reached almost 120 minutes before managing a first shot in that one-sided showpiece, yet Messi’s individual influence over the tournament still cut through.
England captain Harry Kane also makes the cut after winning the Bundesliga with Bayern Munich, his first major league title. Alongside him is his French club team-mate Michael Olise, whose wing play lit up Germany.
Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham forced his way into the conversation with a storming World Cup for England. The midfielder scored seven times, matching Erling Haaland’s tally and finishing behind only Messi on eight and Kylian Mbappe on 10.
Mbappe is there again, of course. He became the first player to win the World Cup Golden Boot for a second time and surged to the top of the tournament’s all-time scoring charts, underlining a legacy that is still being written.
Yamal’s year stretches beyond the main award. The Spanish prodigy is also nominated for the Young Talent prize, which he has already claimed in each of the last two seasons.
At the other end of the age scale, Vozinha, the 40-year-old goalkeeper who emerged as one of the heroes of Cape Verde’s fairytale World Cup run, earns a place on the goalkeeping shortlist.
Three of the men’s nominees are based outside Europe. Messi now plays his club football with MLS side Inter Miami, while Sadio Mane and Julian Quinones are both in Saudi Arabia.
Women’s race opens up without Bonmati
The women’s Ballon d’Or picture has a different feel this time. Aitana Bonmati, a three-time winner and the dominant figure of recent years, is absent after breaking her leg midway through the season and missing a large chunk of the campaign.
Her former Barcelona team-mate Alexia Putellas, though, is back in the conversation. The 2021 and 2022 winner, now with London City Lionesses, makes the shortlist and brings heavyweight pedigree to a field that suddenly looks more open.
Barcelona’s influence remains strong. Putellas is one of seven players who won the women’s Champions League with the club in May to be nominated. Among them is Poland striker Ewa Pajor, who scored twice in the 4-0 demolition of Lyon in the final, a performance that left little room for debate about Barcelona’s current supremacy in the women’s game.
The women’s award stretches the map even wider than the men’s. Zambian forward Barbra Banda, starring for Orlando Pride in South Africa, is on the list. So is Mexican attacker Scarlett Camberos, playing in her home country, along with Malawian forward Temwa Chawinga and American midfielder Rose Lavelle, both operating in the NWSL.
London lights for football’s biggest night
All roads now lead to London. The winners of both Ballon d’Or awards will be revealed at the London Palladium Theatre on October 26, a stage steeped in showbusiness now preparing for football’s most glittering night.
Torres, Messi, Putellas, Mbappe, Yamal and the rest know what is coming: one evening, one trophy each, and another hard line drawn in the history books.
