Spain and Athletic Bilbao goalkeeper Unai Simón was named the world's best goalkeeper at the 2026 Ballon d'Or ceremony held in London on Monday, according to TVC News. He finished ahead of nine other nominees for the award. Simón's selection follows a World Cup in which he started every match for Spain and conceded only once across eight games.
Why it matters
The goalkeeper prize sits among the headline honours handed out at the Ballon d'Or, and Simón's win places him above a field that included some of the most established names in the position. TVC News reports that Thibaut Courtois of Real Madrid, Joan García of Barcelona, David Raya of Arsenal and Matvei Safonov of Paris Saint-Germain were among the other contenders. The result reflects a tournament in which Simón was Spain's clear first choice from start to finish.
A World Cup built on clean sheets
Simón's World Cup form was central to the recognition. TVC News reports that he received the World Cup Golden Glove after letting in a single goal over eight matches. He also set a tournament record by going 650 minutes without conceding, a run that stretched back to his last two appearances at the 2022 World Cup and carried through the opening six and a half matches of the 2026 edition.
That sequence links two World Cup cycles and underlines how rarely opponents found a way past him in the most recent competition. Conceding once in eight games at a World Cup is the kind of record that tends to settle arguments about who the outstanding goalkeeper of the tournament was.
The rest of the shortlist
The ten-man field announced by TVC News spanned several leagues and confederations. Alongside Courtois, García, Raya and Safonov, the nominees were Yassine Bounou of Morocco and Al-Hilal, Gregor Kobel of Switzerland and Borussia Dortmund, Emiliano Martínez of Argentina and Chelsea, Edouard Mendy of Senegal and Al-Ahli, and Vozinha of Cape Verde and Colo-Colo.
The list mixed long-serving internationals with club goalkeepers who had strong seasons in Europe. Simón came out on top of all of them.
Simón, who plays his club football for Athletic Bilbao, now holds both the World Cup Golden Glove and the Ballon d'Or goalkeeper award from the same year. What to watch next is whether his club form through the coming season keeps him at the front of the conversation when the award is handed out again.
