CR7 absent: the four Portuguese players who will face Lionel Messi for the 2026 Ballon d'Or
The Argentine star has earned his 17th nomination for the award and is now just one away from equaling Cristiano Ronaldo's record, who has 18.
The list of candidates for the 2026 Ballon d'Or once again put face to face, although this time in a different way, two of the great protagonists in the award's history: Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo . Although the Portuguese forward will not be in contention for the award, Portugal will have representatives
The Argentine is once again among the 30 nominees, after being left out of the 2024 and 2025 editions, while CR7 was left out of the selection for the fourth consecutive year.
Messi returns, Cristiano remains absent
At 39 years old, the captain of the herons returns to the race for the B allon d'Or after not being included on the list of candidates in the last two years. The Argentine, who has won the award eight times, thus reaches his 17th nomination.
Cristiano Ronaldo, meanwhile, has not appeared among the nominees since 2022. However, the Portuguese star still holds a record that Messi has not been able to surpass: he is the footballer with the most Ballon d'Or nominations in history, having accumulated 18, and he won the award on five occasions.
However, the advantage changes when counting trophies: Messi is the all-time top winner with eight Ballon d'Or awards, while Cristiano won five.
The Portuguese who will seek to succeed CR7
The absence of Cristiano made way for the new generation and he is no longer among the nominees; even so, Portugal has a strong presence in the 2026 edition.
Bruno Fernandes, Nuno Mendes, João Neves and Vitinha are among the 30 candidates. Three of them —Mendes, Neves and Vitinha— are linked to Paris Saint-Germain , one of the main protagonists of this year's list. The French club is coming off a standout role in European soccer. Fernandes, for his part, will represent Manchester United .
This way, the Portuguese flag continues to have representatives in the race for an award that Cristiano Ronaldo won several times.
Messi appears once again among the best footballers in the world and is the only MLS player included among the 30 nominees for 2026. The Argentine earns the nomination after another outstanding year, in which he once again captained Argentina , led it to the World Cup final, and reached new records in the history of the World Cup .
He also maintained his leading role with Inter Miami . He won the MLS Cup in 2025, claimed the league MVP award for the second consecutive year, and remains one of the top scorers of the 2026 season.
The achievements accumulated by Messi over the last year have once again placed him among the main candidates for the Ballon d'Or . The focus will now be on whether, at 39 years old , the Argentine can add the ninth award of his career. The winner will be announced on October 26 in London, at a ceremony that will celebrate the 70th anniversary of the accolade.
Cristiano will not be among the candidates, but the historic comparison with Messi still has one chapter left pending: CR7 holds the record for nominations and Leo is now just one away from tying it.
