{
  "id": 3906403,
  "title": "2026 Ballon d’Or: Organisers release list of nominees in Champions League squads",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/28/2026-ballon-dor-organisers-release-list-of-nominees-in-champions",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-08-28T05:48:08.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Daily Post Nigeria",
    "slug": "daily-post-nigeria",
    "url": "https://dailypost.ng/2026/08/28/2026-ballon-dor-organisers-release-list-of-nominees-in-champions-league-squads/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Ballon d'Or organisers have announced the nominees for the 2026 award, drawing from the players who participated in the Champions League squads. Two previous winners, Ousmane Dembélé from Paris Saint-Germain and Rodri Hernández from FC Barcelona, are among the nominees. The nominees are divided into four pots, with each pot containing players from four different clubs. In Pot 1, which includes Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Manchester City, Atlético Madrid, Liverpool, and FC Barcelona, there are a total of 40 nominees, with Kylian Mbappé leading with eight nominations and Erling Haaland from Manchester City and Kevin De Bruyne from Napoli following with eight nominations each. The remaining pots contain a total of 32 nominees.",
  "summary": "The organisers of the Ballon d’Or have released a comprehensive list of nominees, with the draw of the league phase of the Champions League conducted on Thursday evening. This year’s competition will feature two previous winners of the award: Ousmane Dembélé (Paris Saint-Germain) and Rodri Hernández (FC Barcelona). Below is the composition of the four pots and […] 2026 Ballon d’Or: Organisers…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 5,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "France 24",
        "title": "Champions League Draw: PSG to face Barcelona and Man City",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/28/champions-league-draw-psg-to-face-barcelona-and-man-city",
        "published": "2026-08-28T05:14:52.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Daily Post Nigeria",
        "title": "Champions League: SuperComputer predicts trophy winners after league phase draw",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/28/champions-league-supercomputer-predicts-trophy-winners-after-league",
        "published": "2026-08-28T05:40:05.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "New Straits Times",
        "title": "'Champions League draw was rigged'",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/28/champions-league-draw-was-rigged",
        "published": "2026-08-28T07:24:25.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Yahoo Sports",
        "title": "Barcelona face tense deadline as futures of two La Masia stars remain unresolved",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/28/barcelona-face-tense-deadline-as-futures-of-two-la-masia-stars-remain",
        "published": "2026-08-28T07:45:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}