The nominees for the 2026 "Yashin" Trophy, handed to the world's best goalkeeper as part of the Ballon d'Or awards, were unveiled on Tuesday morning. For the first time in three years, Italy's Gianluigi Donnarumma missed the cut.
Ten goalkeepers make up the shortlist for the prestigious prize. Not one Italian, nor a single player plying his trade in Serie A this season, features among them.
The ten nominees are: Morocco's Yassine Bounou (Al-Hilal), Belgium's Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid), Spain's Joan García (Barcelona), Switzerland's Gregor Kobel (Borussia Dortmund), Argentina's Emiliano Martínez (Aston Villa and Chelsea), Senegal's Édouard Mendy (Al-Ahli Saudi), Spain's David Raya (Arsenal), Russia's Matvey Safonov (Paris Saint-Germain), Spain's Unai Simón (Athletic Bilbao), and Cape Verde's Vozinha (Colo-Colo and Chaves).
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Donnarumma holds the trophy from the most recent edition in 2025, having helped fire Paris Saint-Germain to their first ever UEFA Champions League title at the end of the 2024-2025 season.
Only two goalkeepers have ever won the award twice. The Italy captain lifted it in 2021 and 2025, matching Argentina's Emiliano Martínez, crowned in 2023 and 2024.
His omission follows a summer 2025 switch from Paris Saint-Germain to Manchester City. Donnarumma played 43 matches in all competitions for City, conceding 41 goals and keeping 18 clean sheets. He also collected FA Cup and League Cup winners' medals without featuring in a single game in either competition.