Ballon d'Or 2026: Only 2 African players make men's top 30 nominees [FULL LIST]

Only two African players were nominated for the 2026 men's Ballon d'Or top 30 nominees on Tuesday. They are Morocco's Achraf Hakimi and Senegal's Sadio Mane. The two made the list following their brilliant performances at the last edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, AFCON. They have also been performing well for their different clubs, Paris Saint-Germain and Al-Nassr. Here is the full list for the 2026 Ballon d'Or men's nominees: Jude Bellingham Pau Cubarsí Marc Cucurella Ousmane Dembélé Luis Díaz Bruno Fernandes Gabriel Erling Haaland Achraf Hakimi Harry Kane Khvitcha Kvaratskhelia Lamine Yamal Sadio Mane Marquinhos Lautaro Martínez Kylian Mbappé Nuno Mendes Lionel Messi João Neves Michael Olise Willian Pacho Julián Quiñones Declan Rice Rodri Fabián Ruiz William Saliba Ferran Torres Dayot Upamecano Vinícius Jr. Vitinha