No goalkeeper has been included among the 30 nominees for the 2026 Ballon d'Or, with Gianluigi Donnarumma, who finished ninth last year, missing from the list.

According to L'Equipe, this is the first Ballon d'Or shortlist without a goalkeeper since the shortlist format was introduced in 1995, with the number of nominees having varied between 50, 23 and 30 over the years. The 70th edition of the award ceremony will take place in London on 26 October.

Lev Yashin remains the only goalkeeper ever to win the Ballon d'Or, having done so in 1963, which means there will be no new successor in 2026. It will be only the third year in which no goalkeeper appears in the final ranking, after 1967 and 1968.

Although Athletic Bilbao's Unai Simon let in just one goal in seven matches at this summer's World Cup, he was seldom seriously tested behind a commanding Spain defence. David Raya, who was outstanding for Arsenal as they won the Premier League and reached the Champions League final, was on the bench for La Roja at the World Cup, and that has counted against him.

Aston Villa's Emiliano Martinez, a World Cup finalist and Europa League winner, has also been left out after placing 15th in 2023 and 18th in 2024. Donnarumma, now with Manchester City and ninth in 2025 after an exceptional Champions League campaign with Paris Saint-Germain, has been affected by Italy's latest failure to qualify for the World Cup.

His omission also keeps interest alive around the goalkeeper of the season award, formerly known as the Yashin Trophy. In 2024 and 2025, only one goalkeeper made the 30-man shortlist, first Martinez and then Donnarumma, leaving very little doubt over who would take that honour.