A remarkable absence: historic surprise in the Ballon d'Or nominations

Ballon d'Or nominations open a page unwritten for decades Not since 1995, when the shortlist system for candidates was adopted, has the final list of contenders for the Ballon d'Or gone without a single goalkeeper. That leaves the Soviet Lev Yashin, the 1963 winner, as the only goalkeeper in football history to have claimed the award. No successor joins him this year. This exceptional absence makes 2026 only the third edition of the prestigious award in which the goalkeeper category is missing from the final ranking, after the 1967 and 1968 editions, according to the French newspaper "L'Équipe". Every goalkeeper fell through the sieve of the shortlist ahead of the eagerly awaited ceremony for the 70th edition, scheduled to be held in the British capital London on 26 October. The impressive record of the Spanish goalkeeper Unai Simón, the Athletic Bilbao player, was not enough to earn him a place on the list. He conceded only one goal in the seven matches he played at last summer's World Cup, but the defensive solidity of the Spanish national team reduced the situations that called for his direct intervention. His compatriot David Raya paid the price for sitting on La Roja's substitutes' bench during the World Cup, despite an exceptional season with Arsenal that saw him win the Premier League title and reach the Champions League final. The exclusion extended to the Argentine Emiliano Martínez, the Aston Villa goalkeeper, who reached the World Cup final and won the Europa League title with his club. He had previously occupied 15th and 18th place in the Ballon d'Or ranking for 2023 and 2024 respectively. You can discuss the topics and news in greater depth in the Kooora forums Also absent was the Italian Gianluigi Donnarumma, the Manchester City goalkeeper and holder of ninth place in the 2025 Ballon d'Or ranking following his historic campaign with Paris Saint-Germain. The Italian national team's failure to qualify for the last World Cup did for him. This complete absence of goalkeepers from the list of thirty Ballon d'Or nominees reopens the door to excitement and suspense in the competition for the award for the best goalkeeper of the season, formerly the Yashin Trophy. The last two editions featured only one goalkeeper among the Ballon d'Or nominees, Martínez in 2024 and Donnarumma in 2025, which revealed the identity of the Yashin Trophy winner early on and stripped the competition of its usual excitement. This article first appeared on Goal.com and was syndicated with permission.