Foto: BB.LV / кубок
According to UEFA, the anniversary 70th ceremony will take place at the London Palladium theater. It will start at 10:00 PM Latvian time. This will be the first time the award ceremony is held in London. The choice of the British capital is symbolic: it was English footballer Stanley Matthews who became the first recipient of the Ballon d'Or in 1956. ## ## Messi is on the list again, Ronaldo is not One of the main intrigues of this year's ceremony is related to the confrontation between football generations. Lionel Messi, who is already 39 years old, remains the absolute record holder for the number of Ballon d'Or awards - he has eight. Now he is once again a contender for the award. Among his competitors are Kylian Mbappe, Lamine Yamal, Harry Kane, Erling Haaland, and Vinicius Junior. However, Cristiano Ronaldo, a five-time Ballon d'Or winner, has not been on the list of nominees for the third consecutive year. Interestingly, of all 30 contenders, only three have previously received this award: Messi, Spaniard Rodri (2024), and Frenchman Ousmane Dembele (2025). ## All 30 nominees for the Ballon d'Or 2026 Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid) Pau Cubarsi (Barcelona) Marc Cucurella (Chelsea / Real Madrid) Ousmane Dembele (PSG) Luis Diaz (Bayern Munich) Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United) Gabriel Magalhaes (Arsenal) Erling Haaland (Manchester City) Achraf Hakimi (PSG) Harry Kane (Bayern Munich) Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (PSG) Lamine Yamal (Barcelona) Sadio Mane (Al-Nassr) Marquinhos (PSG) Lautaro Martinez (Inter) Kylian Mbappe (Real Madrid) Nuno Mendes (PSG) Lionel Messi (Inter Miami) Joao Neves (PSG) Michael Olise (Bayern Munich) William Pacho (PSG) Julian Quinones (Al-Qadsiah) Declan Rice (Arsenal) Rodri (Manchester City / Barcelona) Fabian Ruiz (PSG) William Saliba (Arsenal) Ferran Torres (Barcelona / PSG) Dayot Upamecano (Bayern Munich) Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid) Vitinha (PSG) The ceremony will be hosted by legendary French footballer Thierry Henry and British sports journalist Kate Scott. The Ballon d'Or winner is determined by the results of voting by an international jury of sports journalists. Individual performances of players, team achievements, and adherence to the principles of fair play are taken into account in the evaluation. In addition to the main men's award, the best female footballer of the year, the best young players, goalkeepers, coaches, and football clubs will also be announced in London. It is worth noting that in 2025, the men's Ballon d'Or was awarded to PSG forward Ousmane Dembele, while the women's award went to Spanish footballer Aitana Bonmati. The name of the new holder of the main award will be revealed late this evening.
