The Shameful Exclusion of Mikel Oyarzabal

Mikel Oyarzabal is the big name missing from the list of 30 nominees for the 2026 Ballon d’Or. This omission is causing quite a stir, especially given a season in which the Real Sociedad forward made his mark with both his club and the Spanish national team. With the San Sebastián-based team, he won the Copa del Rey and even scored in the final, while with Spain he emerged as the top scorer for the Furie Rosse at the World Cup.

What makes his exclusion even more surprising is a comparison with some of the other names selected by France Football. Among the 30, in fact, are Sadio Mané of Al-Nassr and Julián Quiñones of Al-Qadsiah, both playing in the Saudi league. Lionel Messi is also on the list, a standout for Argentina and still in the spotlight with Inter Miami in MLS. The list also includes Marc Cucurella and Ferran Torres.

Oyarzabal, however, isn’t the only big name left off the list. The cut also affected players of the caliber of Pedri, Raphinha, and Désiré Doué. Unai Simón and David Raya, two other big names who failed to make the final cut, were not nominated either.

And it is especially when looking at the numbers that Oyarzabal’s absence takes on even greater significance. The Eibar forward finished last season with 18 goals for Real Sociedad and another 14 for Spain, five of which came in international competition. This performance also allowed him to match the historic records set by Emilio Butragueño and David Villa.

All of this, however, wasn’t enough to convince the jury and end a drought that has lasted over twenty years for Real Sociedad. In fact, the last time a player from the Basque club was in the running for the Ballon d’Or was in 2003, when Nihat Kahveci and Darko Kovačević were named among the nominees after the team’s extraordinary second-place finish in La Liga.