Ballon d'Or 2026: PSG backs three candidates to avoid internal tensions

Paris Saint-Germain will not bet on a single horse for the 2026 Ballon d’Or. Unlike the previous season, when the club orchestrated a targeted campaign in favor of Ousmane Dembélé — who won the award — the Paris leadership has chosen this time to support three players in parallel: Dembélé, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Fabián Ruiz.

This change in strategy was confirmed by Giovanni Castaldi, a journalist specializing in PSG. “It would seem that last year’s campaign for Ousmane Dembélé left some traces in the Paris hierarchy since this season, there will not be a single candidate naturally pushed forward,” he said. Faced with an influx of media requests, the club has therefore decided to highlight a trio: Dembélé, scorer in the Ligue des Champions final, Kvaratskhelia, named best player of the season, and Ruiz, winner of the World Cup and the Ligue des Champions.

The lesson from the 2025 tensions appears to have weighed on the decision. Castaldi recalls that Achraf Hakimi had publicly regretted the lack of internal support for his own candidacy in the previous edition. “PSG has learned the lesson, we will support more than one,” he sums up.

The capital club approaches this ceremony in a position of strength: double European champions and French champions last season, it places several players among the thirty nominees. The ceremony will be held in London on October 26, where the Paris candidates will notably cross paths with Kylian Mbappé, who is running his own campaign.