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Ballon d'Or 2026 Snubs: 10 Players Left Off the 30

MARCA's season jury of 226 people ranked Raphinha 13th and Pedri 14th in the world, and neither made France Football's 30, while Julián Quiñones, 64th on the same jury, did.

  • No. 1: Cristiano Ronaldo
  • 10 places

01Final list

The leading AIs each built their own list of ten independently. Here is one result that is easy to check: every place has a reason, a source, and the list of AIs that included it.

Order: from most to least AI agreement.

A bright badge means this AI put the entry on its list. A dim badge means it did not.

  1. 1

    Cristiano Ronaldo

    28 Saudi league goals and the title, and 33rd on MARCA's jury. Saudi-based Quiñones (64th) made the 30 and Ronaldo did not.

    Included it: Claude, ChatGPT, Meta, Grok, Gemini, Kimi, Wenxin. Did not include: Nemotron, Qwen.

    In their lists: Claude: 5 · ChatGPT: 4 · Meta: 5 · Grok: 8 · Gemini: 8 · Kimi: 8 · Wenxin: 5

    What each AI noted 7
    • Claudeplace 5

      28 goals and a Saudi title, versus 24 league goals for Al Qadsiah's Quiñones, who is on the shortlist. Ronaldo was 33rd with Marca's jury.

      Source ↗
    • ChatGPTplace 4

      MARCA placed him 33rd—only three spots outside the official 30—after a 28-goal league campaign and a Saudi title.

      Source ↗
    • Metaplace 5

      Saudi Pro League champion at 40 with 28 goals in 30 games — 33rd in MARCA, out of Ballon list while Sadio Mane (same league) is in

      Source ↗
    • Grokplace 8

      Twenty-eight league goals, a Saudi title and 33rd on the jury — Quiñones, 64th, still made the 30.

      Source ↗
    • Geminiplace 8

      Bagged 44 goals across 45 competitive matches, illustrating the steep visibility penalty imposed on the Saudi Pro League.

      Source ↗
    • Kimiplace 8

      A Premier League winner's medal and a World Cup hat-trick against France — still a down year by his own numbers.

      Source ↗
    • Wenxinplace 5

      Still scoring 30+ at 41 in Saudi Pro League — and not on the 30

    7 AIs put it here
    Source ↗
  2. 2

    Victor Osimhen

    Won a fourth straight Turkish title, but MARCA's jury put him only 54th. Sources disagree on his goals: 15 league goals, 22 in all competitions, or 26 in the league.

    Included it: Claude, ChatGPT, Meta, Grok, Gemini, Kimi, Wenxin. Did not include: Nemotron, Qwen.

    In their lists: Claude: 10 · ChatGPT: 5 · Meta: 4 · Grok: see list · Gemini: 6 · Kimi: 9 · Wenxin: 2

    What each AI noted 7
    • Claudeplace 10

      15 Süper Lig goals in 1,713 minutes at a stats snapshot, but Marca's jury put him only 54th, a fair-ish reading.

      Source ↗
    • ChatGPTplace 5

      He scored 26 league goals for Galatasaray, but his Turkish-league season had less Ballon d’Or visibility than comparable output in Europe’s biggest leagues.

      Source ↗
    • Metaplace 4

      22 goals in 33 games for 4th straight Super Lig title — 54th in MARCA, omitted because Nigeria failed to qualify for World Cup 2026

      Source ↗
    • Grok

      Named differently in its own list: open the full list.

      see list
    • Geminiplace 6

      Averaged 0.84 non-penalty goals per 90 despite a turbulent transfer saga that cost him early European visibility.

      Source ↗
    • Kimiplace 9

      Fifteen league goals, seven in the Champions League and a fourth straight Turkish title — the price of playing in Turkey is roughly 41 places in MARCA's list.

      Source ↗
    • Wenxinplace 2

      Serie A top scorer who led Napoli to Champions League — and got no invite

    7 AIs put it here
    Source ↗
  3. 3

    Raphinha

    13th on MARCA's jury, the highest of anyone left off. He had 21 goals and 7–8 assists in 33 games, but missed 24–26 games injured (sources differ).

    Included it: Claude, ChatGPT, Meta, Grok, Gemini, Kimi. Did not include: Nemotron, Wenxin, Qwen.

    In their lists: Claude: 2 · ChatGPT: 1 · Meta: 1 · Grok: 1 · Gemini: 1 · Kimi: 1

    What each AI noted 6
    • Claudeplace 2

      21 goals and 8 assists in 33 games, a goal every 104 minutes, yet he missed 24 games with hamstring problems. The 5th-place finisher of 2025 was 13th in Marca's jury.

      Source ↗
    • ChatGPTplace 1

      MARCA put him 13th among the season’s 100; the Ballon d’Or panel left him outside its 30.

      Source ↗
    • Metaplace 1

      13th in MARCA 100 but not in 30-man Ballon list — 21 goals + 8 assists in 33 games last season, then 14 goals in 10 games to start 2026-27

      Source ↗
    • Grokplace 1

      A 226-person jury put him 13th, the highest place of anyone left off, at 1.15 goal contributions per 90.

      Source ↗
    • Geminiplace 1

      Ranked 13th in the world by MARCA's 200-analyst jury and 5th in the prior Ballon d'Or vote, yet failed to make the 30-man cut.

    • Kimiplace 1

      MARCA's 200-strong jury ranked him 13th best player of the season — the Ballon d'Or panel didn't put him in the top 30.

      Source ↗
    6 AIs put it here
    Source ↗
  4. 4

    Pedri

    14th on MARCA's jury and, at €150m, the most valuable player left off. He was a World Cup winner but came off the bench from the quarter-finals.

    Included it: Claude, ChatGPT, Meta, Grok, Gemini, Kimi. Did not include: Nemotron, Wenxin, Qwen.

    In their lists: Claude: 1 · ChatGPT: 2 · Meta: 2 · Grok: 2 · Gemini: 2 · Kimi: 2

    What each AI noted 6
    • Claudeplace 1

      Marca's jury put him 14th in the world, higher than 16 of the 30 nominees (only Kane, Yamal, Mbappé, Rodri, Kvaratskhelia, Messi, Fabián Ruiz, Olise, Dembélé, Cubarsí, Haaland, Vitinha, Raphinha-not-nominee aside, were higher or on the same tier). He is also not among Spain's six nominees.

      Source ↗
    • ChatGPTplace 2

      MARCA ranked him 14th overall, while his La Liga season included nine assists in 29 appearances.

      Source ↗
    • Metaplace 2

      Most valuable snub at €150m — World Cup winner who finished 11th in 2025 Ballon d'Or now absent despite MARCA 14th

      Source ↗
    • Grokplace 2

      Fourteenth on that jury, €150 million, a World Cup medal — then a substitute from the quarter-finals.

      Source ↗
    • Geminiplace 2

      Finished 14th in MARCA's global 100 after supplying a career-high 12 assists and winning two domestic trophies.

    • Kimiplace 2

      At €150m he is the most valuable player on earth not on the list — and he finished the season as a World Cup winner.

      Source ↗
    6 AIs put it here
    Source ↗
  5. 5

    Julián Álvarez

    Valued at €120m with 29 goal contributions, yet he is outside MARCA's top 100: the widest gap between market and jury. His Champions League goal count is disputed (10 vs 7).

    Included it: Claude, ChatGPT, Meta, Grok, Gemini, Kimi. Did not include: Nemotron, Wenxin, Qwen.

    In their lists: Claude: 7 · ChatGPT: 8 · Meta: 6 · Grok: 9 · Gemini: 10 · Kimi: 6

    What each AI noted 6
    • Claudeplace 7

      29 goal contributions, a Champions League semi-final and a World Cup final run, yet Marca's top 50 leaves him out.

      Source ↗
    • ChatGPTplace 8

      The Champions League scoring table lists him with 10 goals, but the striker was outside the 30 despite that European knockout-stage profile.

      Source ↗
    • Metaplace 6

      €120m joint-second most valuable snub — World Cup finalist with 17 league goals and 7 in Champions League

      Source ↗
    • Grokplace 9

      Twenty-nine goal contributions and Atlético's only goal in a Champions League semi-final, then one goal in eight World Cup games.

      Source ↗
    • Geminiplace 10

      Won the domestic league and continental trophy in the same calendar span with 19 club goals, but was held back by substitute minutes.

      Source ↗
    • Kimiplace 6

      The market rates him at €120m — and MARCA's jury left him out of its entire top 100. The widest disagreement of any snub.

      Source ↗
    6 AIs put it here
    Source ↗
  6. 6

    Désiré Doué

    France Football's own editor said he finished 31st or 32nd, "almost a 50-50 call". Sources give 13 goals with 8 or 11 assists.

    Included it: Claude, ChatGPT, Meta, Grok, Kimi. Did not include: Nemotron, Gemini, Wenxin, Qwen.

    In their lists: Claude: 8 · ChatGPT: 7 · Meta: 7 · Grok: 6 · Kimi: 7

    What each AI noted 5
    • Claudeplace 8

      15th in the 2025 vote, but 13 goals and 8 assists this time. He is the one PSG man cut while 10 teammates made it.

      Source ↗
    • ChatGPTplace 7

      The reigning European champions placed nine players on the 30, yet the forward who had been a major PSG name the previous season was absent.

      Source ↗
    • Metaplace 7

      14th in 2025 Ballon d'Or, double Champions League + Ligue 1 winner 2025-26 — finishes 31st/32nd for 2026, just outside cut

    • Grokplace 6

      France Football's own count had him 31st or 32nd, two places off a list that already held nine PSG players.

      Source ↗
    • Kimiplace 7

      Fifteenth in last year's Ballon d'Or voting and a Champions League winner again — a year later he wasn't one of the 30.

      Source ↗
    5 AIs put it here
    Source ↗
  7. 7

    Dani Olmo

    21st on MARCA's jury, one place above nominee Vinícius (22nd). He had 8 goals and 9 assists in a domestic treble, then started the World Cup final.

    Included it: Claude, Meta, Grok, Kimi. Did not include: ChatGPT, Nemotron, Gemini, Wenxin, Qwen.

    In their lists: Claude: 3 · Meta: 8 · Grok: 4 · Kimi: 4

    What each AI noted 4
    • Claudeplace 3

      Domestic treble and a World Cup winner, ranked 21st by Marca's jury, ahead of nominees Pacho (38th), Marquinhos (41st) and Upamecano (44th).

      Source ↗
    • Metaplace 8

      21st in MARCA 100, 7 goals 7 assists in LaLiga for treble-winning Barcelona — World Cup winner left off

      Source ↗
    • Grokplace 4

      Twenty-first on the jury and a starter in the World Cup final, left off while Vinícius, 22nd, was named.

      Source ↗
    • Kimiplace 4

      Eight goals, nine assists and a domestic treble — then he kept Pedri out of Spain's XI at the World Cup.

      Source ↗
    4 AIs put it here
    Source ↗
  8. 8

    Mikel Oyarzabal

    19th on MARCA's jury, one place above nominee Hakimi. He scored five World Cup goals for champions Spain. Seven of his 15 La Liga goals were penalties.

    Included it: Claude, Grok, Kimi. Did not include: ChatGPT, Meta, Nemotron, Gemini, Wenxin, Qwen.

    In their lists: Claude: 4 · Grok: 3 · Kimi: 3

    What each AI noted 3
    • Claudeplace 4

      15 La Liga goals for a club outside the top table and a World Cup winner: Marca's jury had him 19th, above 10 of the 30 nominees.

      Source ↗
    • Grokplace 3

      Spain's top scorer at the World Cup — five goals in eight starts — and 19th on the jury, still outside the 30.

      Source ↗
    • Kimiplace 3

      He outscored nominated Julián Quiñones at the World Cup — and won the tournament as Spain's captain, while Quiñones' Mexico went home early.

      Source ↗
    3 AIs put it here
    Source ↗
  9. 9

    David Raya

    MARCA's best goalkeeper (24th overall) after 19 clean sheets and a third Golden Glove. The men's 30 has no goalkeeper at all.

    Included it: Claude, Grok, Kimi. Did not include: ChatGPT, Meta, Nemotron, Gemini, Wenxin, Qwen.

    In their lists: Claude: 6 · Grok: 5 · Kimi: 5

    What each AI noted 3
    • Claudeplace 6

      A third straight Premier League Golden Glove with 19 clean sheets, ranked 24th by Marca, but no goalkeeper made the 30.

      Source ↗
    • Grokplace 5

      Nineteen Premier League clean sheets and the jury's best goalkeeper — the men's 30 does not name a goalkeeper.

      Source ↗
    • Kimiplace 5

      Nineteen clean sheets, 26 goals conceded and a third straight Golden Glove — and not one goalkeeper made the 30.

      Source ↗
    3 AIs put it here
    Source ↗
  10. 10

    Unai Simón

    29th on MARCA's jury, above nominees Pacho and Marquinhos. He conceded once in Spain's whole World Cup title run.

    Included it: Claude, Kimi. Did not include: ChatGPT, Meta, Grok, Nemotron, Gemini, Wenxin, Qwen.

    In their lists: Claude: 9 · Kimi: 10

    What each AI noted 2
    • Claudeplace 9

      29th in Marca's jury, above nominees Pacho, Marquinhos and Upamecano, and he conceded only once at the World Cup for Spain.

      Source ↗
    • Kimiplace 10

      He conceded once — once — in the entire World Cup for the champions, and MARCA still ranked him only 29th.

      Source ↗
    2 AIs put it here
    Source ↗

More about the top three ↓

02More about the top three

The ranking is above. Here is more about the three places at the top: what they are, why they are here, and what is worth knowing.

The three are compared on goal counts that are not the same: league-only versus all competitions, in different leagues, and sources disagree on Osimhen's total.

1Cristiano Ronaldo

No. 1 — Cristiano Ronaldo. On the lists of 7 of 9 AIs; median place there: 5. He scored 28 league goals and won the Saudi title, yet missed the 30 while a Saudi-based player made it.

Cristiano Ronaldo Croatia v Portugal 2 July 2026-075 (cropped)
Bryan Berlin · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Did you know

  • On 18 April 2017 Ronaldo scored a hat-trick against Bayern Munich. That made him the first player to score 100 goals in the UEFA Champions League, a mark Guinness World Records lists as a record.

    Source ↗
What it is
Veteran striker who won the Saudi league with 28 goals.
Its edge
Most league goals of the three, plus a league title.
Who should know
Useful for anyone who wants to see how much the Saudi league is discounted.
  • Rank on MARCA's jury33rd on MARCA's jury

Wikipedia · Wikidata

Why it is here

  • Ronaldo scored 28 goals for Al Nassr and led them to the Saudi league title, plus three for Portugal at the World Cup. The 30-man list still left him out, even though a Saudi-based forward made it.

    Source ↗

  • MARCA's yearly Los 100 ranking, voted by a panel of more than 200 former players, journalists and analysts, put Ronaldo 33rd. That is a solid jury placing, yet he missed the Ballon d'Or shortlist.

    Source ↗
History

  • In 2006, Ronaldo was booed by some United fans after his role in Wayne Rooney’s World Cup sending-off. He answered with his first 20-goal league season and won his first Premier League title. — (voice only)

    Source ↗
Keep in mind

  • Per Goal, tension peaked in a 2022 win over Tottenham, when Ronaldo refused to come on as a substitute and left early. He then said he felt "betrayed", and United ended his contract by mutual consent.

    Source ↗

  • A pressing-style complaint is secondhand. It comes from McClaren, Ten Hag's former assistant, as told via The Athletic: Ronaldo "didn't want to do the job that Erik wanted him to do." It is one view, not a measurement.

    Source ↗

Video: Cristiano Ronaldo | The Life of a Football Legend | The Dr Binocs Show | Peekaboo Kidz · Peekaboo Kidz

Compare the top three ↓

2Victor Osimhen

No. 2 — Victor Osimhen. On the lists of 7 of 9 AIs; median place there: 5.5. He won a fourth straight Turkish title, but the jury put him only 54th and his goal counts vary.

Did you know

  • When Osimhen scored 26 league goals for Napoli, he became the first African to hit that number in one Serie A season. Napoli say that since 2000 only three title-winning teams also had the league's top scorer, and none of those scorers got 26.

    Source ↗
What it is
Striker who won a fourth straight Turkish title.
Its edge
Four titles in a row, which neither of the other two can claim.
Who should know
Useful for anyone who wants to learn why goal totals differ between sites.
  • Rank on MARCA's jury54th on MARCA's jury
Why it is here

  • Osimhen's goal in the 4-2 win over Antalyaspor sealed Galatasaray's title "for the fourth consecutive time". He has 61 goals in 75 games for the club since joining from Napoli. He was still not on the 30-man list.

    Source ↗

  • Counts differ by source. One report says he scored 22 goals in all competitions in 2025/26, seven of them in the Champions League. The same report says he scored 37 goals in 41 matches the season before.

    Source ↗ ✓ confirmed by several AIs
Did you know

  • In that title season Osimhen passed George Weah to become the African with the most Serie A goals ever. Napoli's club site gave it as 50 for Osimhen against Weah's 46.

    Source ↗
History

  • In early 2024, his planned move away from Napoli fell apart. Galatasaray then took him on loan in September 2024, and he scored 37 goals with eight assists in 41 games that season.

    Source ↗
Keep in mind

  • His future is open. His contract runs to June 2029 with no fixed release clause. ESPN says Chelsea, Barcelona and Real Madrid have reportedly shown interest, so he may not stay in Turkey.

    Source ↗
Where to go further

  • Open his FotMob player page and check the season table first, then his match ratings. Sites count his goals differently, so compare league-only and all-competitions totals before you trust one number.

    Source ↗
Compare the top three ↓

3Raphinha

No. 3 — Raphinha. On the lists of 6 of 9 AIs; median place there: 1. He was 13th on the jury, the highest of anyone left off, though injuries cost him many games.

Raphinha Brazil V Morocco 13 June 2026-133 (cropped)
Bryan Berlin · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Did you know

  • In the 2024–25 Champions League, Raphinha set a new Barcelona record for goal involvements in one season. Barcelona's site counted 20, made of 12 goals and 8 assists, which beat Lionel Messi's 19 from 2011/12.

    Source ↗
What it is
Barcelona forward with 21 goals in 33 league games.
Its edge
Highest jury place of anyone left off the 30.
Who should know
Useful for anyone who wants the strongest case of a real snub.
  • Rank on MARCA's jury13th on MARCA's jury

Wikipedia · Wikidata

Why it is here

  • MARCA's jury ranked Raphinha 13th in the world for 2025-26. Ronaldo was 33rd. He is the highest-placed player left off the 30, which is the strongest case that he was snubbed.

    Source ↗

  • Raphinha scored 21 league goals and made 7 assists in 33 league matches in 2025/26. The year before, he had 34 goals and 22 assists in 57 matches and finished fifth in the Ballon d'Or. Injuries hurt his season.

    Source ↗
History

  • In 2022, Leeds were ready to accept a Chelsea offer for Raphinha, but he said no: "I rejected Chelsea because my dream was to play for Barça." He joined Barcelona instead. — Raphinha

    Source ↗
Keep in mind

  • Injuries cut his season. In March 2026 Barcelona said he had a right hamstring injury. Football España says he would miss five weeks and "up to nine matches".

    Source ↗

  • His earlier muscle strain was first estimated at three weeks. It relapsed and kept him out closer to two months, which is one reason sources differ on games missed.

    Source ↗
Where to go further

  • Read this Flashscore article on how Raphinha's injuries hurt Barcelona this season. Start with the injury timeline, then see how his missed games affected the team's results.

    Source ↗
ChatGPT, Meta, Grok, Gemini, Kimi put it first. What they saw in it

  • ChatGPT: MARCA put him 13th among the season’s 100; the Ballon d’Or panel left him outside its 30.

  • Meta: 13th in MARCA 100 but not in 30-man Ballon list — 21 goals + 8 assists in 33 games last season, then 14 goals in 10 games to start 2026-27

  • Grok: A 226-person jury put him 13th, the highest place of anyone left off, at 1.15 goal contributions per 90.

  • Gemini: Ranked 13th in the world by MARCA's 200-analyst jury and 5th in the prior Ballon d'Or vote, yet failed to make the 30-man cut.

  • Kimi: MARCA's 200-strong jury ranked him 13th best player of the season — the Ballon d'Or panel didn't put him in the top 30.

Video: How A Player That “Nobody Liked” Is Humbling EVERYONE | Raphinha · Football Iconic

Compare the top three ↓

The top three side by side

Cristiano RonaldoVictor OsimhenRaphinha
In the AIs' lists7 / 97 / 96 / 9
Rank on MARCA's jury33rd on MARCA's jury54th on MARCA's jury13th on MARCA's jury
Put first by——ChatGPT, Meta, Grok, Gemini, Kimi

Places with the same number of AIs are ordered by their average place in the AIs' own lists.

More ratings

03Worth knowing

What the AIs noticed while building the list.

Playing outside Europe did not cost everyone the same. Quiñones (MARCA 64th) and Sadio Mané (10 Saudi league goals) made the 30, while Ronaldo, with 28 goals and the title, did not.

Noticed by:
Included it: Claude, Meta, Grok, Kimi. Did not include: ChatGPT, Nemotron, Gemini, Wenxin, Qwen.
Source ↗

Eleven players ranked 13th to 37th by MARCA's jury are off the shortlist, while nominees Pacho (38th), Marquinhos (41st) and Upamecano (44th) ranked below them.

Noticed by:
Included it: Claude, Grok. Did not include: ChatGPT, Meta, Nemotron, Gemini, Kimi, Wenxin, Qwen.
Source ↗

The men's 30 contains no goalkeeper, in a season when Raya won a third straight Golden Glove and Simón conceded once at the World Cup.

Noticed by:
Included it: Claude, Grok, Kimi. Did not include: ChatGPT, Meta, Nemotron, Gemini, Wenxin, Qwen.
Source ↗

The market and the jury disagree. Álvarez and Doué (€120m each) are outside MARCA's top 100, while the jury's 19th and 21st (Oyarzabal, Olmo) are valued far lower.

Noticed by:
Included it: Kimi. Did not include: Claude, ChatGPT, Meta, Grok, Nemotron, Gemini, Wenxin, Qwen.
Source ↗

Salah's omission looks like a fair reading of his season: 4th in 2025, then 7 Premier League goals and 7 assists in 2025-26 before leaving Liverpool.

Noticed by:
Included it: ChatGPT, Grok, Kimi. Did not include: Claude, Meta, Nemotron, Gemini, Wenxin, Qwen.
Source ↗

04Questions people ask

When is the Ballon d'Or 2026?

It was held on Monday, 26 October 2026, at the London Palladium, the first time the gala took place in London. Places 30 to 11 were released from 17:00 GMT.

Who were the biggest Ballon d'Or 2026 snubs?

Raphinha and Pedri, 13th and 14th on MARCA's season jury, were both left off. Pedri, at €150m, is the most valuable player not nominated.

Source ↗
What period does the Ballon d'Or 2026 cover?

France Football's rules cover 3 August 2025 to 19 July 2026, World Cup included. Goals scored in the 2026-27 season, such as Raphinha's, do not count.

Source ↗
Why do sources give different goal totals for the snubs?

Some count league goals only and others count all competitions. Osimhen, for example, is quoted at 15 league goals or 22 in all competitions.

Source ↗

05How we counted

In plain words, no formulas.

1The question

Top 10 Players Left Off the 2026 Ballon d'Or Shortlist Whose Seasons Say They Belong

2Why this topic

The reader sees the gap between the official 30 and both open data and a second jury, plus how much playing outside Europe costs a player. Neither list shows this alone.

3Where it applies

Global men's football; players not on the 2026 30-man shortlist

4What we looked at

  • Per-90 output (goals, assists, expected goals) compared with the lowest-ranked of the 30 nominees
  • Placing on an independent season jury (Los 100 de MARCA) compared with leaving him off the shortlist
  • Trophies and big-match appearances in the window
  • League played in, to measure how much a non-European league costs in visibility
  • France Football / UEFA — official 2026 men's shortlist — The 30 nominees announced on 8 September 2026. It is an unranked list, and the panel's detailed scoring is not public.
  • France Football / L'Équipe — shortlist rules — Who picks the 30, the three judging criteria in order, and the window (3 August 2025 to 19 July 2026, World Cup included).
  • MARCA — Los 100 de MARCA 2025-26 — A season ranking by a separate jury of 226 former players, journalists and coaches, each voting a top 15. Kane won with 3,962 points to Yamal's 3,937.
  • FBref / Opta — season statistics — Goals, assists and per-90 rates by competition. Reliable per-90 figures were found only for some players.

5Who ranked

The leading AIs, each building its own list of ten independently and naming a source for every place: Claude, ChatGPT, Meta, Grok, Nemotron, Gemini, Kimi, Wenxin, Qwen.

6How the places were set

The same entry written differently by different AIs was counted as one. The more AIs put an entry on their list, and the higher they put it, the higher its place. "AI agreement" shows how many of the AIs had it on their own list. Sources are only those the AIs found themselves; nothing was added by hand.

06Each AI's own list

🇺🇸 Claude10 places · 4 notes

The same question, answered by Claude alone. The final list above combines all the AIs.

  1. 1
    Pedri (Barcelona, 2026)

    Marca's jury put him 14th in the world, higher than 16 of the 30 nominees (only Kane, Yamal, Mbappé, Rodri, Kvaratskhelia, Messi, Fabián Ruiz, Olise, Dembélé, Cubarsí, Haaland, Vitinha, Raphinha-not-nominee aside, were higher or on the same tier). He is also not among Spain's six nominees.

    Source ↗
  2. 2
    Raphinha (Barcelona, 2026)

    21 goals and 8 assists in 33 games, a goal every 104 minutes, yet he missed 24 games with hamstring problems. The 5th-place finisher of 2025 was 13th in Marca's jury.

    Source ↗
  3. 3
    Dani Olmo (Barcelona, 2026)

    Domestic treble and a World Cup winner, ranked 21st by Marca's jury, ahead of nominees Pacho (38th), Marquinhos (41st) and Upamecano (44th).

    Source ↗
  4. 4
    Mikel Oyarzabal (Real Sociedad, 2026)

    15 La Liga goals for a club outside the top table and a World Cup winner: Marca's jury had him 19th, above 10 of the 30 nominees.

    Source ↗
  5. 5
    Cristiano Ronaldo (Al Nassr, 2026)

    28 goals and a Saudi title, versus 24 league goals for Al Qadsiah's Quiñones, who is on the shortlist. Ronaldo was 33rd with Marca's jury.

    Source ↗
  6. 6
    David Raya (Arsenal, 2026)

    A third straight Premier League Golden Glove with 19 clean sheets, ranked 24th by Marca, but no goalkeeper made the 30.

    Source ↗
  7. 7
    Julián Álvarez (Atlético Madrid, 2026)

    29 goal contributions, a Champions League semi-final and a World Cup final run, yet Marca's top 50 leaves him out.

    Source ↗
  8. 8
    Désiré Doué (PSG, 2026)

    15th in the 2025 vote, but 13 goals and 8 assists this time. He is the one PSG man cut while 10 teammates made it.

    Source ↗
  9. 9
    Unai Simón (Athletic Club, 2026)

    29th in Marca's jury, above nominees Pacho, Marquinhos and Upamecano, and he conceded only once at the World Cup for Spain.

    Source ↗
  10. 10
    Victor Osimhen (Galatasaray, 2026)

    15 Süper Lig goals in 1,713 minutes at a stats snapshot, but Marca's jury put him only 54th, a fair-ish reading.

    Source ↗

What Claude noticed

11 players ranked 13th-37th by Marca's jury (Raphinha, Pedri, Oyarzabal, Olmo, Raya, Simón, Ronaldo, Porro, Nico Paz, Fermín López, Griezmann) are not on the shortlist, while nominees Pacho (38th), Marquinhos (41st) and Upamecano (44th) rank lower.

Source ↗

PSG have 10 of the 30 nominees. Even so, the club's Désiré Doué was left off, and fans accused the list of continental bias.

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Two nominees play outside Europe's top five leagues in the Saudi Pro League (Mané, Quiñones). Ronaldo, with 28 goals and the title, is not among them.

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Raphinha has 12 goals in 7 games in the new 2026-27 season, but this ballot covers 2025-26 and the World Cup only.

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🇺🇸 ChatGPT10 places · 3 notes

The same question, answered by ChatGPT alone. The final list above combines all the AIs.

  1. 1
    Raphinha 2026 Ballon d’Or snub

    MARCA put him 13th among the season’s 100; the Ballon d’Or panel left him outside its 30.

    Source ↗
  2. 2
    Pedri 2026 Ballon d’Or snub

    MARCA ranked him 14th overall, while his La Liga season included nine assists in 29 appearances.

    Source ↗
  3. 3
    Mohamed Salah 2026 Ballon d’Or snub

    A year after finishing fourth in the Ballon d’Or, Salah missed the 30; his 2025–26 league line was seven goals and seven assists in 2,146 minutes.

    Source ↗
  4. 4
    Cristiano Ronaldo 2026 Ballon d’Or snub

    MARCA placed him 33rd—only three spots outside the official 30—after a 28-goal league campaign and a Saudi title.

    Source ↗
  5. 5
    Victor Osimhen 2026 Ballon d’Or snub

    He scored 26 league goals for Galatasaray, but his Turkish-league season had less Ballon d’Or visibility than comparable output in Europe’s biggest leagues.

    Source ↗
  6. 6
    Cole Palmer 2026 Ballon d’Or snub

    The 30 included three Arsenal defenders and three PSG defenders; Palmer’s omission leaves a high-profile Premier League attacking season outside the field.

  7. 7
    Désiré Doué 2026 Ballon d’Or snub

    The reigning European champions placed nine players on the 30, yet the forward who had been a major PSG name the previous season was absent.

    Source ↗
  8. 8
    Julián Álvarez 2026 Ballon d’Or snub

    The Champions League scoring table lists him with 10 goals, but the striker was outside the 30 despite that European knockout-stage profile.

    Source ↗
  9. 9
    Robert Lewandowski 2026 Ballon d’Or snub

    His last Barcelona season still produced 42 appearances across all competitions, but did not earn a place among the 30.

    Source ↗
  10. 10
    Mohamed Salah, Raphinha, and Pedri 2026 snub debate

    The clearest disagreement is not whether the absences are real, but whether season output, availability, or trophies should decide a shortlist whose scoring rubric is unpublished.

    Source ↗

What ChatGPT noticed

MARCA’s separately reported placements put Raphinha 13th and Pedri 14th, while the official shortlist left both out; Barcelona director Deco called the omissions a “world scandal.”

Source ↗

Cristiano Ronaldo finished 33rd in MARCA’s 100-player list, just outside the 30 nominees, and scored 28 league goals in Al-Nassr’s title-winning season.

Source ↗

Mohamed Salah’s numbers illustrate why raw reputation can mislead: one source records 14 Premier League goal contributions, while his previous year’s fourth-place finish raises the bar for judging this season’s omission.

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🇺🇸 Meta10 places · 4 notes

The same question, answered by Meta alone. The final list above combines all the AIs.

  1. 1
    Raphinha (Brazil, Barcelona)

    13th in MARCA 100 but not in 30-man Ballon list — 21 goals + 8 assists in 33 games last season, then 14 goals in 10 games to start 2026-27

    Source ↗
  2. 2
    Pedri (Spain, Barcelona)

    Most valuable snub at €150m — World Cup winner who finished 11th in 2025 Ballon d'Or now absent despite MARCA 14th

    Source ↗
  3. 3
    Mohamed Salah (Egypt, Trabzonspor)

    From 4th in 2025 Ballon d'Or to snubbed after Turkey move — top of Super Lig with 7 goals in 6 games

    Source ↗
  4. 4
    Victor Osimhen (Nigeria, Galatasaray)

    22 goals in 33 games for 4th straight Super Lig title — 54th in MARCA, omitted because Nigeria failed to qualify for World Cup 2026

    Source ↗
  5. 5
    Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal, Al-Nassr)

    Saudi Pro League champion at 40 with 28 goals in 30 games — 33rd in MARCA, out of Ballon list while Sadio Mane (same league) is in

    Source ↗
  6. 6
    Julián Álvarez (Argentina, Atlético Madrid)

    €120m joint-second most valuable snub — World Cup finalist with 17 league goals and 7 in Champions League

    Source ↗
  7. 7
    Désiré Doué (France, PSG)

    14th in 2025 Ballon d'Or, double Champions League + Ligue 1 winner 2025-26 — finishes 31st/32nd for 2026, just outside cut

  8. 8
    Dani Olmo (Spain, Barcelona)

    21st in MARCA 100, 7 goals 7 assists in LaLiga for treble-winning Barcelona — World Cup winner left off

    Source ↗
  9. 9
    Bradley Barcola (France, PSG)

    11 goals in Ligue 1 for double Champions League winners — PSG have 10 nominees but Barcola gets very few votes

    Source ↗
  10. 10
    Florian Wirtz (Germany, Bayer Leverkusen / Liverpool)

    Still €100m despite form dip — joint 13th most valuable at World Cup, snubbed after underwhelming 2025-26

    Source ↗

What Meta noticed

Harry Kane won MARCA 100 with 3,962 points, just 25 ahead of Lamine Yamal — tightest edition since 2021-22 inception

Source ↗

Raphinha (13th) and Pedri (14th) in MARCA 100 are both Barcelona starters and World Cup winners, yet both missing from Ballon 30 — biggest gap between independent jury and France Football panel

Source ↗

Two Saudi Pro League players made the Ballon shortlist — Sadio Mane (Al-Nassr) and Julian Quinones (Al-Qadsiah) — while league champion Cristiano Ronaldo (28 goals) did not, highlighting non-European league visibility cost

Source ↗

Transfermarkt most valuable snubbed: Pedri €150m, Alvarez & Doué €120m each — all above several nominees like Quinones and Mane whose market values are far lower

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🇺🇸 Grok10 places · 4 notes

The same question, answered by Grok alone. The final list above combines all the AIs.

  1. 1
    Raphinha

    A 226-person jury put him 13th, the highest place of anyone left off, at 1.15 goal contributions per 90.

    Source ↗
  2. 2
    Pedri

    Fourteenth on that jury, €150 million, a World Cup medal — then a substitute from the quarter-finals.

    Source ↗
  3. 3
    Mikel Oyarzabal

    Spain's top scorer at the World Cup — five goals in eight starts — and 19th on the jury, still outside the 30.

    Source ↗
  4. 4
    Dani Olmo

    Twenty-first on the jury and a starter in the World Cup final, left off while Vinícius, 22nd, was named.

    Source ↗
  5. 5
    David Raya

    Nineteen Premier League clean sheets and the jury's best goalkeeper — the men's 30 does not name a goalkeeper.

    Source ↗
  6. 6
    Désiré Doué

    France Football's own count had him 31st or 32nd, two places off a list that already held nine PSG players.

    Source ↗
  7. 7
    Bradley Barcola

    Thirteen goals for the European champions and three at the World Cup, then 'very few votes' beside Doué.

    Source ↗
  8. 8
    Cristiano Ronaldo

    Twenty-eight league goals, a Saudi title and 33rd on the jury — Quiñones, 64th, still made the 30.

    Source ↗
  9. 9
    Julián Álvarez

    Twenty-nine goal contributions and Atlético's only goal in a Champions League semi-final, then one goal in eight World Cup games.

    Source ↗
  10. 10
    Enzo Fernández

    Twenty-six goal contributions and a World Cup winner in the round of 16, then a red card in the final.

    Source ↗

What Grok noticed

The independent jury and the shortlist agree at the very top, then split on two names: Raphinha is 13th and Pedri 14th, and both are missing, while nominee Julián Quiñones is 64th.

Source ↗

A non-European league was not a fixed tax. Sadio Mané made the 30 with 10 Saudi league goals, and Quiñones made it from 64th on the jury. Ronaldo's 28 league goals did not.

Source ↗

The men's 30 contains no goalkeeper. David Raya won a third straight Premier League Golden Glove with 19 clean sheets and was MARCA's best goalkeeper, on 150 points.

Source ↗

Per-90 alone did not force a place. Fermín López had 13 goals and 17 assists at 0.89 per 90 for Barcelona and was 36th on the jury, and he is not on the 30.

Source ↗
🇺🇸 Gemini10 places · 1 notes

The same question, answered by Gemini alone. The final list above combines all the AIs.

  1. 1
    Raphinha

    Ranked 13th in the world by MARCA's 200-analyst jury and 5th in the prior Ballon d'Or vote, yet failed to make the 30-man cut.

  2. 2
    Pedri

    Finished 14th in MARCA's global 100 after supplying a career-high 12 assists and winning two domestic trophies.

  3. 3
    Rodrygo

    Delivered 22 goal contributions and won the Champions League and La Liga double, yet was omitted from the 30-man ballot entirely.

  4. 4
    Jamal Musiala

    Tied as Euro Golden Boot co-winner and selected to UEFA's Team of the Tournament, but missed out to lower-output domestic nominees.

  5. 5
    Mohamed Salah

    Generated 28 combined goals and assists in the Premier League alone, outproducing more than a third of the shortlisted 30.

    Source ↗
  6. 6
    Victor Osimhen

    Averaged 0.84 non-penalty goals per 90 despite a turbulent transfer saga that cost him early European visibility.

    Source ↗
  7. 7
    Robert Lewandowski

    Scored 26 goals in all competitions for Barcelona, exceeding the total goals of 11 attacking nominees on the shortlist.

    Source ↗
  8. 8
    Cristiano Ronaldo

    Bagged 44 goals across 45 competitive matches, illustrating the steep visibility penalty imposed on the Saudi Pro League.

    Source ↗
  9. 9
    Kevin De Bruyne

    Recorded 18 assists in just 26 appearances across all competitions, posting a Europe-leading 0.98 assists per 90 minutes.

    Source ↗
  10. 10
    Julián Álvarez

    Won the domestic league and continental trophy in the same calendar span with 19 club goals, but was held back by substitute minutes.

    Source ↗

What Gemini noticed

Playing outside the UEFA Champions League ecosystem incurs a massive penalty: Cristiano Ronaldo scored 44 goals with a 1.14 G+A/90 rate but received zero committee votes for the shortlist.

Source ↗
🇨🇳 Kimi10 places · 4 notes

The same question, answered by Kimi alone. The final list above combines all the AIs.

  1. 1
    Raphinha

    MARCA's 200-strong jury ranked him 13th best player of the season — the Ballon d'Or panel didn't put him in the top 30.

    Source ↗
  2. 2
    Pedri

    At €150m he is the most valuable player on earth not on the list — and he finished the season as a World Cup winner.

    Source ↗
  3. 3
    Mikel Oyarzabal

    He outscored nominated Julián Quiñones at the World Cup — and won the tournament as Spain's captain, while Quiñones' Mexico went home early.

    Source ↗
  4. 4
    Dani Olmo

    Eight goals, nine assists and a domestic treble — then he kept Pedri out of Spain's XI at the World Cup.

    Source ↗
  5. 5
    David Raya

    Nineteen clean sheets, 26 goals conceded and a third straight Golden Glove — and not one goalkeeper made the 30.

    Source ↗
  6. 6
    Julián Álvarez

    The market rates him at €120m — and MARCA's jury left him out of its entire top 100. The widest disagreement of any snub.

    Source ↗
  7. 7
    Désiré Doué

    Fifteenth in last year's Ballon d'Or voting and a Champions League winner again — a year later he wasn't one of the 30.

    Source ↗
  8. 8
    Bukayo Saka

    A Premier League winner's medal and a World Cup hat-trick against France — still a down year by his own numbers.

    Source ↗
  9. 9
    Victor Osimhen

    Fifteen league goals, seven in the Champions League and a fourth straight Turkish title — the price of playing in Turkey is roughly 41 places in MARCA's list.

    Source ↗
  10. 10
    Unai Simón

    He conceded once — once — in the entire World Cup for the champions, and MARCA still ranked him only 29th.

    Source ↗

What Kimi noticed

Two independent juries read the same season in opposite directions: MARCA's 200+ voter panel put Raphinha 13th and Pedri 14th — above six actual Ballon d'Or nominees (Bellingham 15th, Rice 16th, Ferran Torres 17th, Nuno Mendes 18th) — while France Football's panel left both out of the top 30 entirely.

Source ↗

The market and the jury disagree about what a snub even is: Julián Álvarez (€120m), Désiré Doué (€120m) and Bukayo Saka (€110m) are all absent from MARCA's entire top 100, while MARCA's 19th and 21st (Oyarzabal, Olmo) carry far more modest price tags — value rewards youth and resale, the jury rewards the season.

Source ↗

The non-European visibility tax is measurable: Osimhen (15 league goals, 7 UCL goals, fourth straight Süper Lig title, Milliyet Footballer of the Year) sits 54th with MARCA and off the shortlist, while two Saudi-based players — Sadio Mané and Julián Quiñones — were nominated, Quiñones at MARCA 64th, 10 places below Osimhen.

Source ↗

For the first time in years the 30-man list contained no goalkeeper at all — in the same season David Raya won a third consecutive Premier League Golden Glove with 19 clean sheets, and Unai Simón conceded once in seven World Cup games. Lev Yashin (1963) remains the only keeper ever to win.

Source ↗
🇨🇳 Wenxin10 places · 2 notes

The same question, answered by Wenxin alone. The final list above combines all the AIs.

  1. 1
    Mohamed Salah (2026 Ballon d'Or snub)

    25+ league goals again at 34 — and still invisible to Paris

  2. 2
    Victor Osimhen (2026 Ballon d'Or snub)

    Serie A top scorer who led Napoli to Champions League — and got no invite

  3. 3
    Raphinha (2026 Ballon d'Or snub)

    Barcelona's engine — 15 goals, 18 assists — and dropped from the 30

    Source ↗
  4. 4
    Pedri (2026 Ballon d'Or snub)

    Midfield metronome at 23 — best progressive passes/90 in La Liga — absent

  5. 5
    Cristiano Ronaldo (2026 Ballon d'Or snub)

    Still scoring 30+ at 41 in Saudi Pro League — and not on the 30

  6. 6
    Florian Wirtz (2026 Ballon d'Or snub)

    Bayer Leverkusen's creative crown jewel — 13G 12A in Bundesliga alone

  7. 7
    Lamine Yamal (2026 Ballon d'Or snub)

    18-year-old wonder: 11G 14A at Barcelona — first-ever teen snub?

  8. 8
    Bruno Fernandes (2026 Ballon d'Or snub)

    Man United's set-piece maestro — 15 goals, 11 assists — no France Football love

  9. 9
    Denzel Dumfries (2026 Ballon d'Or snub)

    Inter's flying Dutchman — 7G 9A from right-back — Serie A champion in disguise

  10. 10
    Cole Palmer (2026 Ballon d'Or snub)

    Chelsea's talisman — 22G 8A in Premier League — yet no shortlist call

What Wenxin noticed

Osimhen's €70m market value is lower than some shortlisted nominees, suggesting the market penalises Serie A's revenue gap vs Premier League and La Liga for individual player perception.

Source ↗

Raphinha's 33 direct goal involvements in La Liga for Barcelona (potential title contenders) ranks him above several midfielders who made the shortlist purely on trophy weight.

Source ↗