Women's Ballon d'Or 2026: Bonmatí absent, three French players in 30-player shortlist

Aitana Bonmatí will not be in contention for a fourth consecutive Women’s Ballon d’Or. The FC Barcelona midfielder, winner in 2023, 2024 and 2025, is absent from the 30-player shortlist officially unveiled Tuesday, a direct consequence of a left fibula fracture sustained in November that kept her sidelined until early May.

Three French players feature in this selection. Selma Bacha and Wendie Renard, both players at OL Lyonnes, are joined by Melvine Malard, who joined Chelsea this summer from Manchester United. The trophy presentation ceremony is scheduled for Monday, October 26 in London.

The complete 30-player list reflects FC Barcelona’s dominance on the European stage: Esmee Brugts, Mariona Caldentey, Cata Coll, Caroline Graham Hansen, Patri Guijarro, Mapi Leon, Ewa Pajor, Claudia Pina and Alexia Putellas are all associated with the Catalan club. Manchester City also places four players — Kerstin Casparij, Alex Greenwood, Yui Hasegawa, Vivianne Miedema and Khadija Shaw — while Arsenal counts Caldentey and Alessia Russo among its ranks.

Among the other nominees are Barbra Banda (Orlando), Klara Bühl (Bayern Munich), Scarlett Camberos (Club América), Temwa Chawinga (Kansas City), Melchie Dumornay (OL Lyonnes), Pernille Harder (Bayern Munich), Rose Lavelle (Gotham FC), Lorena (Kansas City), Manaka Matsukubo (Chelsea), Momoko Tanikawa (Bayern Munich), Caroline Weir (OL Lyonnes) and Tessa Wullaert (Como).