2026 Ballon d’Or: Mohamed Salah and Bradley Barcola among notable absentees

Mohamed Salah and Bradley Barcola are among the high-profile players missing from the shortlist for the 2026 Ballon d’Or, with the announcement also excluding Barcelona trio Pedri, Raphinha and Dani Olmo.

Salah, who is listed as a Trabzonspor player, was included among last year’s nominees and finished fourth in the voting. His absence is therefore one of the most notable developments in the list released by France Football.

Barcola is listed with Liverpool. Other prominent names left out include Virgil van Dijk, Bukayo Saka, Cole Palmer, Desire Doue, Phil Foden, Ruben Dias and Antonio Rudiger.

The main absentees from the 2026 Ballon d’Or shortlist are:

– Pedri – Barcelona – Mohamed Salah – Trabzonspor – Bradley Barcola – Liverpool – Virgil van Dijk – Liverpool – Raphinha – Barcelona – Bukayo Saka – Arsenal – Cole Palmer – Chelsea – Desire Doue – Paris Saint-Germain – Phil Foden – Manchester City – Dani Olmo – Barcelona – Ruben Dias – Manchester City – Antonio Rudiger – Real Madrid

The selection period for this year’s award ran from 3 August 2025 to 19 July 2026. It covered the beginning of the 2025-26 season and concluded with the 2026 World Cup final, in which Spain won the tournament.

The period also included matches played at the Africa Cup of Nations and the final stage of the Women’s Nations League.

Players are assessed on three main criteria: individual performances, their decisive and influential contribution, and their overall character; team performances and the trophies won; and integrity and fair play.

How the Ballon d’Or vote works

The Ballon d’Or is awarded by an international jury of specialist football journalists. There is one representative from each country among the top 100 nations in the FIFA men’s world rankings for the men’s award, while the women’s award is decided by representatives from the top 50 countries in the FIFA rankings.

The rankings in force when the shortlists were published on 8 September 2026 are used to determine which nations are represented on the voting panel.

Each journalist selects 10 players. The points awarded are 15, 12, 10, 8, 7, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1, in descending order from first to 10th place.

The player with the highest points total wins the Ballon d’Or.

If two or more players finish level on points, the award is decided by the number of votes received in first place. Should the tie remain, the number of second-place votes is used, followed by third-place votes and so on until a winner is established.