Cata Coll is in the Ballon d'Or frame again, and this time she has two lines of interest attached to the same night. The FC Barcelona goalkeeper is among the finalists connected to the gala and is also a candidate for the Best Goalkeeper of the Year award.
The timing matters because the gala is set to begin at 21h, with the finalists already in place and the awards about to be decided. Coll, who is from Pòrtol, has become one of the names carrying the Balearic presence into elite women’s football on a night that puts her career under a brighter spotlight.
She is not alone in that picture. Patri Guijarro and Mariona Caldentey also appear among the Ballon d'Or finalists, with Caldentey now at Arsenal and Guijarro having already added another marker to her season by taking Mejor Jugadora de la Liga F 2025/2026 at the Premios AFE. Guijarro's season ended with 34 matches, 4 goals and 11 assists, numbers that help explain why the island trio is being read as part of a broader football surge.
That is the point that runs through the nominations. The presence of Coll, Guijarro and Caldentey is being used to underline the strength of a historic generation, but also the vigour of Spanish football at the top level. It is a strong claim, and the list of finalists gives it weight: Balearic players are no longer being mentioned as promising names for the future, but as current contenders for the game's biggest stages.
There is still one thing the announcement does not settle. Coll is presented as a serious contender for Best Goalkeeper of the Year, but the outcome has not been made clear in the build-up to the gala. That leaves the last word for the night itself, when the Ballon d'Or ceremony will decide whether the Pòrtol goalkeeper leaves as a finalist, a winner, or both.
