Could Lionel Messi win a ninth Ballon d’Or in 2026?
There’s no reason why not, organisers France Football has confirmed.
During this World Cup, they’ve published a piece in the ‘press room’ section of the Ballon d’Or website with a headline asking ‘Can you win the Ballon d’Or without playing for a European club?‘
Funnily enough, they’ve stuck a picture of Cristiano Ronaldo as the article’s featured picture – either in a bid to appease his army of online acolytes, or simply being cheeky – but we all really know who that question pertains to.
Messi has been an MLS player for three seasons. It’s always been unthinkable that a player playing outside the European elite level could claim the award. But it’s also unthinkable for such a player, at the age of 39, produce such dominant performances at the World Cup.
Put simply, unlike in the past, there are no rules in place exempting Messi – or anyone else not playing in Europe – from winning the award in 2026.
“To answer that question, a bit of history,” they explain.
“Created in 1956 by France Football, the Ballon d’Or originally rewarded the best European player playing in a European league. That lasted until 1995, when the trophy went global, while still being reserved for players playing in a European league. But since 2007, there’s been no restriction: the Ballon d’Or rewards the best player in the world, full stop.”
Indeed, they point out that Messi has already won the award as an MLS player, the first male player in history to do so while not representing a European club.
The Argentinian won his record-extending eighth Ballon d’Or in October 2023, a few months after his move stateside.
There is a key bit of context missing there, though, namely that everything in the eligibility period that year was before he signed for Inter Miami.
“The Ballon d’Or has been judged on the season (from August to July) rather than the calendar year since 2022,” France Football explain.
“That means that, for the club portion, our jury based their judgment on Messi’s performances with Paris Saint-Germain, the club the newly-crowned world champion left in the summer of 2023.”
Messi hasn’t made the shortlist since, while a young Neymar – then starring for Santos – was the last player to earn a nomination despite spending the entire eligibility period outside Europe. That was way back in 2011.
We have also seen a woman from outside of Europe win the Ballon d’Or – Megan Rapinoe of Seattle Reign FC in 2019.
Whether or not Argentina win the final against Spain, it appears likely that Messi will claim a third Golden Ball for the Player of the Tournament. His place on the Ballon d’Or shortlist this year is surely all but guaranteed at this point.
But if he can produce one more great performance and inspire Argentina to World Cup glory, he’ll be the leading contender to win Ballon d’Or No.9.
France Football have made that clear.
