Paris Saint-Germain have won back-to-back Champions League titles. The award is essentially a formality at this point — but the five-team shortlist for the 2026 Ballon d'Or Men's Club of the Year still tells an interesting story about where the game's power sits right now.
The ceremony takes place in London on October 26, organised by France Football. The Club of the Year award has only existed since 2021, but its track record is already predictable: four of the five winners lifted the Champions League that year. Chelsea, then Manchester City twice, then Real Madrid, then PSG. The pattern rewards European royalty. It's not subtle.
Here's how all five nominees rank — and what their chances actually look like.
The Contenders (and One Wonderful Outlier)
5. Bodø/Glimt — They beat Manchester City at home. They beat Atlético Madrid away. They eliminated Inter Milan, the 2024-25 finalists, home and away. Kjetil Knutsen's side operate closer to the Arctic Circle than to any traditional European power base, and they've just had the best Champions League run in Norwegian football history. They won't win the award, but the nomination is earned. Not every shortlist needs to be five versions of the same club.
4. Flamengo — The best team outside UEFA, and it's not particularly close. They beat Palmeiras to lift the 2025 Copa Libertadores, won Serie A, and won the Campeonato Carioca. A penalty shootout defeat to PSG in the Intercontinental Cup is the one blemish, and it's also the reason they won't top this list. South American football's best still hits a ceiling when the global prizes are handed out in Europe.
3. Arsenal — Mikel Arteta ended Arsenal's 21-year wait for a Premier League title, losing just four times all season and finishing seven points clear of Manchester City. That alone is a transformational achievement for the club. But they fell short in both the Carabao Cup and Champions League finals, and in a year when PSG exist, runners-up finishes don't move the needle enough.
2. Bayern Munich — Vincent Kompany's side led the Bundesliga from Gameweek 1 to the last, dropped just one game, and broke the all-time record for goals in a single Bundesliga season with 122 — 36 of them from Harry Kane. They also won the DFB-Pokal. The only thing stopping them from being a genuine contender for this award is that PSG knocked them out in the Champions League semifinals. That result keeps echoing.
Why PSG Win This Easily
Luis Enrique's PSG won Ligue 1, the Champions League, the UEFA Super Cup, and the Intercontinental Cup. They are the first team outside Real Madrid to win back-to-back European titles in the Champions League era. That last part bears repeating — it has taken an entire generation for someone to match what Madrid did, and PSG have done it.
The Club of the Year odds reflect all of this. PSG aren't just favourites — they're the only logical answer. Any other result in London on October 26 would be the story of the night, and not in a good way.
- PSG: Ligue 1, Champions League, UEFA Super Cup, Intercontinental Cup
- Bayern Munich: Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal
- Arsenal: Premier League, Champions League runners-up, Carabao Cup runners-up
- Flamengo: Copa Libertadores, Serie A, Campeonato Carioca
- Bodø/Glimt: Norwegian Cup, Champions League Round of 16
Five very different clubs. One winner. The ceremony is in October — but this race was decided in May.
