The clash between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid takes place one day before the 2026 Ballon d’Or gala, where seven of the nominees play for one of the Spanish giants.
The next few days will be very important for several of world football’s biggest stars. The 2026 Ballon d’Or winner will be announced at a ceremony in London on Monday October 26th, while FC Barcelona and Real Madrid meet in the first ELCLASICO of the LALIGA EA SPORTS season one day before, on Sunday October 25th. Given that seven of the 30 nominees for the Ballon d’Or currently play for one of the Spanish giants, it’ll be a tense couple of days for these players. Click this link https://a.meridianbet.ke/c/C7pYjz to start gaming and stand a chance of winning big with Meridianbet.
FC Barcelona’s Pau Cubarsí, Rodri and Lamine Yamal have all made the shortlist for the most prestigious individual honour in football, while Real Madrid’s Marc Cucurella, Jude Bellingham, Kylian Mbappé and Vinícius have all been nominated too.
Although Vinícius will miss ELCLASICO through suspension, that still leaves three Ballon d’Or nominees in each squad for Sunday’s big match. No other rivalry match in world football will have so many Ballon d’Or nominees across both squads this season. Although Paris Saint-Germain, as Champions League winners, have 10 nominees, none of their domestic rivals have a single candidate, making ELCLASICO a unique rivalry, with world-class players on both sides.
It’ll be especially fascinating to see these Ballon d’Or candidates go up against each other one day before the gala in London, given that some of them will be direct opponents in the match. Real Madrid left-back Marc Cucurella, who had a terrific World Cup with Spain, will now be tasked with trying to contain his international teammate Lamine Yamal at the Spotify Camp Nou. At the other end, Pau Cubarsí will hope to play as well against Kylian Mbappé as he did in Spain’s semi-final victory over France at the World Cup. Then, the midfield duel between Rodri and Jude Bellingham should be a tense tactical tussle as well.
Over two decades of ELCLASICO stars winning the Ballon d’Or
The 2026 Ballon d’Or race is one of the tightest in recent memory, and it’s anyone’s guess as to who’ll take home the trophy. Lamine Yamal and Kylian Mbappé are among the frontrunners and if either player does collect his first Ballon d’Or, he’ll join a long list of ELCLASICO stars who have lifted the prestigious individual trophy.
In fact, every single Ballon d’Or winner since 2004 has been at one of the two ELCLASICO clubs at some point in their career. Andriy Shevchenko was the 2004 winner and the Ukrainian striker never played in Spain, but the nine footballers to win a Ballon d’Or since then have all spent time at either FC Barcelona or Real Madrid during their careers. They are Ronaldinho, Fabio Cannavaro, Kaká, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Luka Modrić, Karim Benzema, Rodri and Ousmane Dembélé.
Although not all of their Ballon d’Or victories came while they were at FC Barcelona or Real Madrid, these players were either about to join one of the biggest two clubs in the world or had spent important years there on their path to the very top.
ELCLASICO truly is the rivalry match of Ballon d’Or superstars. Each team is expected to have three nominees in their starting line-ups this Sunday, and one of those players may even lift the trophy the following night.
