For the first time, the awards ceremony will be hosted in London, where Lionel Messi aims for his ninth Ballon d’Or, while Rose Lavelle stands as the sole American nominated for the top honor on the women’s side.
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The finalists for the prestigious Ballon d’Or awards have been revealed, offering insight into the contenders. Following their recent Champions League triumphs, Paris Saint-Germain and Spain’s national team are prominently featured, while American players Rose Lavelle and Lily Yohannes are the only representatives from the U.S. Messi, a previous eight-time winner, is again in the running after helping Inter Miami win the MLS Cup and securing a runner-up finish at the World Cup with Argentina.
This year marks the first occasion the awards ceremony will occur outside of Paris, taking place at the London Palladium Theatre. The winners will be announced on Monday, October 26. In the meantime, let’s look at the nominees for each category:
Nominees for Young Talent of the Year
Men’s
- Kerim Alajbegovic (Juventus/Bosnia and Herzegovina)
- Ayyoub Bouaddi (Manchester City/Morocco)
- Pau Cubarsi (Barcelona/Spain)
- Yan Diomande (Real Madrid/Ivory Coast)
- Lennart Karl (Bayern Munich/Germany)
- Eli Junior Kroupi (Bournemouth/France)
- Lamine Yamal (Barcelona/Spain)
- Johan Manzambi (Aston Villa/Switzerland)
- Ibahim Maza (Bayer Leverkusen/Algeria)
- Warren Zaire-Emery (Paris Saint-Germain/France)
Women’s
- Veerle Buurman (Chelsea/Netherlands)
- Vicky Lopez (Barcelona/Spain)
- Felicia Schroder (Real Madrid/Sweden)
- Clara Serrajordi (Barcelona/Spain)
- Lily Yohannes (OL Lyonnes/USA)
Nominees for Goalkeeper of the Year
Men’s
- Yassine Bounou (Al Hilal/Morocco)
- Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid/Belgium)
- Joan Garcia (Barcelona/Spain)
- Gregor Kobel (Borussia Dortmund/Switzerland)
- Emiliano Martinez (Chelsea/Argentina)
- Edouard Mendy (Al Ahli/Senegal)
- David Raya (Arsenal/Spain)
- Matvey Safonov (Paris Saint-Germain/Russia)
- Unai Simon (Athletic Club/Spain)
Women’s
- Ann-Katrin Berger (NY/NJ Gotham/Germany)
- Cata Coll (Barcelona/Spain)
- Hannah Hampton (Chelsea/England)
- Lorena (Kansas City Current/Brazil)
- Ayaka Yamashita (Manchester City/Japan)
Nominees for Coach of the Year
Men’s
- Mikel Arteta (Arsenal)
- Luis de la Fuente (Spain)
- Unai Emery (Aston Villa)
- Vincent Kompany (Bayern Munich)
- Luis Enrique (Paris Saint-Germain)
Women’s
- Jonatan Giraldez (OL Lyonnes)
- Andree Jeglertz (Manchester City)
- Nils Nielsen (Japan National Team)
- Pere Romeu (Barcelona)
- Elena Sadiku (Celtic/Hacken)
Nominees for Club of the Year
Men’s
- Arsenal
- Bayern Munich
- Bodo/Glimt
- Flamengo
- Paris Saint-Germain
Women’s
- Barcelona
- Bayern Munich
- Club America
- Manchester City
- OL Lyonnes
Ballon d’Or Nominees
Men’s
- Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid/England)
- Pau Cubarsi (Barcelona/Spain)
- Marc Cucurella (Real Madrid/Spain)
- Ousmane Dembele (Paris Saint-Germain/France)
- Luis Diaz (Bayern Munich/Colombia)
- Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United/Portugal)
- Gabriel (Arsenal/Brazil)
- Erling Haaland (Manchester City/Norway)
- Achraf Hakimi (Paris Saint-Germain/Morocco)
- Harry Kane (Bayern Munich/England)
- Khvitcha Kvaratskhelia (Paris Saint-Germain/Georgia)
- Lamine Yamal (Barcelona/Spain)
- Sadio Mane (/Senegal)
- Marquinhos (Paris Saint-Germain/Brazil)
- Lautaro Martinez (Inter/Argentina)
- Kylian Mbappe (Real Madrid/France)
- Nuno Mendes (Paris Saint-Germain/Portugal)
- Lionel Messi (Inter Miami/Argentina)
- Joao Neves (Paris Saint-Germain/Portugal)
- Michael Olise (Bayern Munich/France)
- Willian Pacho (Paris Saint-Germain/Ecuador)
- Julian Quinones (/Mexico)
- Declan Rice (Arsenal/England)
- Rodri (Barcelona/Spain)
- Fabian Ruiz (Paris Saint-Germain/Spain)
- William Saliba (Arsenal/France)
- Ferran Torres (Paris Saint-Germain/Spain)
- Dayot Upamecano (Bayern Munich/France)
- Vinicius Jr. (Real Madrid/Brazil)
- Vitinha (Paris Saint-Germain/Portugal)
Women’s
- Selma Bacha (Lyon/France)
- Barbra Banda (Orlando Pride/Zambia)
- Klara Buhl (Bayern Munich/Germany)
- Esmee Brugts (Barcelona/Netherlands)
- Mariona Caldentey (Arsenal/Spain)
- Scarlett Camberos (Club América/Mexico)
- Kerstin Casparij (Manchester City/Netherlands)
- Temwa Chawinga (Kansas City Current/Malawi)
- Cata Coll (Barcelona/Spain)
- Melchie Dumornay (Lyon/Haiti)
- Caroline Graham Hansen (Barcelona/Norway)
- Alex Greenwood (Manchester City/England)
- Patri Guijarro (Barcelona/Spain)
- Pernille Harder (Bayern Munich/Denmark)
- Yui Hasegawa (Manchester City/Japan)
- Rose Lavelle (NJ/NY Gotham FC/USA)
- Mapi Leon (Barcelona/Spain)
- Lorena (Kansas City Current/Brazil)
- Melvine Malard (Manchester United/France)
- Manaka Matsukubo (North Carolina Courage/Japan)
- Vivianne Miedema (Manchester City/Netherlands)
- Ewa Pajor (Barcelona/Poland)
- Claudia Pina (Barcelona/Spain)
- Alexia Putellas (Barcelona/Spain)
- Wendie Renard (Lyon/France)
- Alessia Russo (Arsenal/England)
- Khadija Shaw (Manchester City/Jamaica)
- Momoko Tanikawa (Bayern Munich/Japan)
- Caroline Weir (Real Madrid/Scotland)
- Tessa Wullaert (Inter Milan/Belgium)
This year’s Ballon d’Or announcement is particularly exciting for soccer fans as Messi continues to shape his legacy while newcomers like Lavelle signify the growing prominence of American talent in women’s soccer. As the ceremony moves to London, it presents an opportunity for the sport to further engage with its global fanbase and elevate women’s soccer on the world stage.
Source: www.cbssports.com
