Scotland captain Caroline Weir nominated for second Ballon d'Or after another stellar season
Weir recognised for performances for Real Madrid and Scotland
Scotland captain Caroline Weir has been nominated for the women's Ballon d'Or for the second year running.
The 31-year-old midfielder, who joined French champions Lyon this summer after four years at Real Madrid, became the first Scottish player to be nominated for the award last year, finishing in 30th place.
She is one of 30 players on the 2026 shortlist which includes England duo Alessia Russo and Alex Greenwood, with Barcelona's Aitana Bonmati, who has won the award for the past three years, absent after missing a large chunk of the season with a broken leg.
Weir enjoyed another stellar individual campaign in her final year at Madrid, scoring 20 goals and providing seven assists across 39 appearances. She finished the season as the club's top scorer and its all-time leading goalscorer.
She has also scored 10 goals in her last five Scotland appearances including hat-tricks against Luxembourg and Israel before netting four in a 5-1 away win against Israel in June. Her total international record is 31 goals in 121 caps.
There are no Scots among the men's Ballon d'Or nominees after Napoli's Scott McTominay last year became the first player from this country to receive a nomination since Ally McCoist in 1987.
The Ballon d'Or is celebrating its 70th anniversary, having been created by France Football in 1956, and the winner will be announced at an ceremony in London on October 26.
The "symbolic choice of venue" is in tribute to former England player Sir Stanley Matthews, who won the first Ballon d'Or.
Women's 2026 Ballon d'Or contenders:
Selma Bacha (Lyon/France)
Barbra Banda (Orlando Pride/Zambia)
Klara Buhl (Bayern Munich/Germany)
Esmee Brugts (Barcelona/Netherlands)
Mariona Caldentey (Arsenal/Spain)
Scarlett Camberos (Club America/Mexico)
Kerstin Casparij (Manchester City/Netherlands)
Temwa Chawinga (Kansas City/Malawi)
Cata Coll (Barcelona/Spain)
Melchie Dumornay (Lyon/Haiti)
Caroline Graham Hansen (Barcelona/Norway)
Alex Greenwood (Manchester City/England)
Patri Guijarro (Barcelona/Spain)
Pernille Harder (Bayern Munich/Denmark)
Yui Hasegawa (Manchester City/Japan)
Rose Lavelle (Gotham FC/United States)
Mapi Leon (London City Lionesses/Spain)
Lorena (Kansas City Current/Brazil)
Melvine Malard (Chelsea/France)
Manaka Matsukubo (Chelsea/Japan)
Vivianne Miedema (Manchester City/Netherlands)
Ewa Pajor (Barcelona/Poland)
Claudia Pina (Barcelona/Spain)
Alexia Putellas (London City Lionesses/Spain)
Wendie Renard (Lyon/France)
Alessia Russo (Arsenal/England)
Khadija Shaw (Manchester City/Jamaica)
Momoko Tanikawa (Bayern Munich/Japan)
Caroline Weir (Lyon/Scotland)
Tessa Wullaert (Como/Belgium)
Comments
Want to join the conversation? Please or to comment on this article.