With the official 30-man shortlist for the 2026 Ballon d’Or set to be unveiled, the debate over who will lift football’s most prestigious individual award in Paris has reached a fever pitch.

Nigerian Semi Ajayi and Senegalese Nobel Mendy temporarily vacated defensive roles to score as promoted Hull City stunned Manchester United 2-0 in the Premier League opening round at the weekend.

UEFA chief Aleksander Ceferin says he is “not interested” in replacing Gianni Infantino but warned the under-fire FIFA president must quit or face a leadership challenge.

Spain’s World Cup winner Ferran Torres scored twice to claim a draw for Paris Saint-Germain as they started the defence of their French Ligue 1 title with a 2-2 draw at Rennes.

Spanish champions Barcelona cruised to a 5-0 win over Elche on Sunday in their La Liga opener with Raphinha and Fermin Lopez scoring twice each and Anthony Gordon setting up two goals on his debut.