The 2026 Ballon d’Or will spotlight the game’s biggest prizes across the men’s and women’s competitions, with several of Europe’s leading clubs heavily represented on the shortlists.

Paris Saint-Germain headline the men’s field with a remarkable 10 nominations for the Men’s Ballon d’Or, while Barcelona lead overall with 20 nominees across the available categories. Bayern Munich stand alone as the only club to be nominated for both the Men’s and Women’s Club of the Year award. Arsenal, the defending English champions, appear in every men’s category except the Kopa Trophy.

PSG’s list is stacked with Ousmane Dembélé, Achraf Hakimi, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Marquinhos, Nuno Mendes, João Neves, Willian Pacho, Fabián Ruiz, Ferran Torres and Vitinha all named for the Men’s Ballon d’Or. Warren Zaïre-Emery is in line for the Kopa Trophy, Matvey Safonov is on the Yashin Trophy list, Luis Enrique is nominated for Men’s Coach of the Year, and PSG are up for Men’s Club of the Year.

Arsenal’s nominations are more concentrated, with Gabriel, Declan Rice and William Saliba all shortlisted for the Men’s Ballon d’Or. Mariona Caldentey and Alessia Russo are both in the running for the Women’s Ballon d’Or, David Raya is up for the Yashin Trophy, Mikel Arteta is nominated for Men’s Coach of the Year, and Arsenal are in the Club of the Year conversation.

Barcelona’s nominations span both squads, with Pau Cubarsí, Rodri, Ferran Torres and Lamine Yamal among the men’s names, while their women’s representatives include Esmee Brugts, Cata Coll, Caroline Graham Hansen, Patri Guijarro, Mapi Leion, Ewa Pajor, Claudia Pina and Alexia Putellas. Vicky López and Clara Serrajordi are on the Women’s Kopa Trophy list, Joan García is nominated for the Yashin Trophy, Pere Romeu is in the Coach of the Year race, and Barcelona are favourites for Women’s Club of the Year.

Bayern’s strongest men’s nominees are Harry Kane, Luis Díaz, Michael Olise and Dayot Upamecano, while Klara Bühl, Pernille Harder and Momoko Tanikawa feature on the women’s side. Lennart Karl is on the Kopa Trophy shortlist and Vincent Kompany is up for Men’s Coach of the Year.

Chelsea, Real Madrid and Manchester City also have notable representation across the awards, underlining how widely the nominations are spread among Europe’s leading clubs.

Alexis Mac Allister has cast doubt over his Liverpool future after revealing that the club are not currently offering him a new contract. The 2022 World Cup-winning midfielder said he had the “chance” to leave during the recently closed transfer window, and added that his agent was told Liverpool are “not in a position to renew.”

His current deal now has fewer than two years remaining, a stage when clubs often move to protect the value of key players under 30. Liverpool, however, have not taken that step, despite already extending the contracts of Dominik Szoboszlai and Ryan Gravenberch this year until 2031 and 2032 respectively.

Mac Allister addressed the situation before Liverpool’s Champions League opener against Atlético Madrid. “I see Dominik and Ryan renewing their contracts, and that makes me very happy because they deserve it, but at the same time, it makes me a little bit sad that I didn’t get mine,” he said. The Argentine also made clear that there is still a chance matters could change, adding, “There is still time” to sign a contract.

The question of salary appears central, even if nothing has been confirmed. Szoboszlai and Gravenberch are now estimated to be among Liverpool’s highest earners, with only Virgil van Dijk paid more than the latter. Mac Allister’s own wage, reported at around $203,000 (£150,000) a week, would likely need to rise sharply for any new agreement, while Liverpool must also balance the risk of piling too many players near the top of the pay scale.

At 27, heading towards 28 before the end of the year, Mac Allister is no longer in the youngest bracket of those being tied down on long-term deals. His form over the past 12 months has also not strengthened his case. Mohamed Salah forced the issue publicly when his own contract was nearing expiry in 2025, but he was delivering one of the great seasons when it mattered most.

Mac Allister said there were options to leave this summer, but insisted, “I have the mindset to give my 100% for this club.” He also said, “I don’t want to say things they never said, but what I got from my agent was that they were not in a position to renew me,” before adding, “It’s really sad because we won a Premier League together, we’ve been through difficult times together and I always give my best. We will see what happens, but it makes me a little bit sad.”

Manchester United have at least found a way to score in recent Premier League matches, with seven goals across the games against Ipswich Town and Everton. The broader concern, however, remains at the other end of the pitch, where Michael Carrick now has a clear defensive problem to solve.

For the first time in this league campaign, United have conceded two goals in each of their opening three matches. That has only been matched once before in Premier League history, in 2020-21, when Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s side let in 11 goals across their first three fixtures: a 3-1 defeat to Crystal Palace, a 3-2 win over Brighton & Hove Albion and a 6-1 loss to Tottenham Hotspur.

To find the next occasion, you have to go back more than 50 years, to 1972-73. That was a far more turbulent period for the club, then four years on from becoming England’s first European Cup winners and only two years away from relegation. The campaign began with defeats to Ipswich Town, Liverpool and Everton, and it proved to be the final season for Bobby Charlton and Denis Law, while George Best was also entering the closing stage of his United career. Frank O’Farrell was dismissed four months into the season.

There are older examples too. In 1964-65, United conceded at least twice in their opening three league matches but still went on to win the title under Matt Busby. The contrast underlines that a poor defensive start does not always define a season, even if it creates an early burden.

Carrick summed up the issue by saying it was about “little moments we can deal with a bit better.” Against Hull, set pieces were the issue. More broadly, the concern is that conceding so freely forces the forwards to compensate. Last season, United scored a similar number of league goals to Arsenal, 69 to 71, but shipped almost twice as many, 50 to 27, and finished 14 points behind.