Paris Saint-Germain is breaking Ballon d’Or records. The list of 30 nominees for the 2026 Ballon d’Or includes 10 players who wore PSG colors during the season, exactly one third of the candidates. An absolute record for a single club in one edition.
But this figure becomes even more impressive when compared to the previous year. In 2025, Paris had already set the record with nine nominated players. Twelve months later, the club breaks its own record with ten representatives. PSG thus accumulates 19 nominations in just two editions.
9 players in 2025, 10 in 2026: Paris breaks its own record
PSG is not achieving an isolated feat. It is continuing two years of dominance in individual nominations, alongside its exceptional collective results.
In 2025, nine Parisians were among the 30 candidates. One year later, they are ten. Of the 60 spots distributed during the 2025 and 2026 editions, 19 have been occupied by PSG players.
The previous record outside PSG was held by Real Madrid, with eight nominated players in 2018. The Spanish club had placed seven in 2017, as many as Liverpool in 2019 and Manchester City in 2023.
PSG has therefore gone further two consecutive years: 9 nominees in 2025 then 10 in 2026.
10 players linked to PSG among the 30 candidates
The Parisian list includes Ousmane Dembélé, Achraf Hakimi, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Marquinhos, Nuno Mendes, João Neves, Willian Pacho, Fabián Ruiz, Vitinha and Ferran Torres, the latter having joined Paris after starting the year at FC Barcelona.
Several players are even on a true streak. Vitinha is nominated for the third consecutive year after finishing 27th in 2024 and third in 2025.
This significant presence follows the crowning of Ousmane Dembélé, winner of the 2025 Ballon d’Or.
Two consecutive Champions League titles behind these two records
The repetition of the Ballon d’Or record especially accompanies two historic PSG seasons in the Champions League.
On May 31, 2025, Paris won the first Champions League in its history by crushing Inter Milan 5-0 in the final. Achraf Hakimi opened the scoring, Désiré Doué scored a brace, followed by goals from Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Senny Mayulu.
This first European victory was followed a few months later by Ousmane Dembélé’s Ballon d’Or and the first Parisian record of nine players nominated among the 30.
One year later, PSG did it again. On May 30, 2026, the Parisians won their second consecutive Champions League by beating Arsenal. After a 1-1 score at the end of extra time, Paris prevailed 4-3 on penalties in Budapest.
PSG thus became the first French club to win the Champions League twice and only the second club to retain the trophy since the modern era of the competition began in 1992-1993.
Two Champions League titles, two Ballon d’Or records
The parallel is spectacular: Champions League 2025, then nine Ballon d’Or nominees; Champions League 2026, then ten Ballon d’Or nominees.
Paris has therefore not only retained its European title but also broken its own record for representation among candidates for the most prestigious individual trophy.
The combined record is unprecedented: two consecutive Champions League titles and 19 Ballon d’Or nominations in two years.
Dembélé defends his Ballon d’Or
Ousmane Dembélé is naturally among the ten players. The Frenchman, crowned Ballon d’Or in 2025, is therefore a candidate to succeed himself.
He had expressed confidence before the nominations were revealed, stating that the trophy should remain in Paris: “I don’t think this trophy is undecided. I think it will stay in the hands of a PSG player.”
The Frenchman also gave his own top 3 for the 2026 Ballon d’Or, without naming himself: “My top 3? Kvara, Harry Kane, and I think Kylian Mbappé.”
Dembélé will notably find among the candidates Kylian Mbappé, Harry Kane, Lamine Yamal, Erling Haaland, Lionel Messi, Vinicius Junior, Rodri, and Jude Bellingham.
Safonov, Zaïre-Emery, and Luis Enrique also nominated
The Parisian presence goes far beyond the men’s Ballon d’Or. Matvey Safonov is a candidate for the Yachine Trophy rewarding the best goalkeeper, while Warren Zaïre-Emery is among the players selected for the best young player trophy.
Luis Enrique, already awarded the Johan Cruyff Trophy for best coach in 2025, is nominated again. PSG, elected best club in 2025, is also a candidate to succeed itself.
19 nominations in two years: an unprecedented performance
Ultimately, the combined total of the two editions best measures the Parisian performance. PSG did not simply break a record by placing ten players among the 30 candidates in 2026: it already held this record thanks to its nine nominees in 2025.
9 in 2025, 10 in 2026: 19 nominations in two consecutive editions.
These two individual records correspond to two equally historic collective results: the first European title against Inter Milan in 2025, then the second consecutive Champions League won against Arsenal in 2026.
The name of the 2026 Ballon d’Or will be revealed on October 26 in London, where the ceremony will be held for the first time on the occasion of the trophy’s 70th anniversary.
