Caroline Weir Back on Ballon d'Or Shortlist as Scotland Chase World Cup Place
Caroline Weir has made the 30-player Ballon d'Or shortlist for a second year in a row. The Ballon d'Or is football's award for the best player in the world, and the shortlist for the women's prize was announced by BBC Sport on 25 October.
Weir is 31. She is a midfielder and attacker who now plays for Lyon, the French club that has won the European Cup eight times, after leaving Real Madrid. Her first nomination came in 2025, the same year Scott McTominay was nominated on the men's side. It was also a comeback season for her, after a serious knee injury, known as an ACL tear, that keeps players out for many months.
The shortlist is a long way from the only story in her year. In the past 12 months she has scored 11 goals for Scotland, including three hat-tricks, three goals in one match. She has also been named Scotland captain. Earlier in the qualifying campaign for the 2027 Women's World Cup, she was the top scorer in the league phase with ten goals. In June, she scored in a 6-0 win over Israel, and Erin Cuthbert, Lauren Davidson and Kirsty Hanson also found the net that night.
Weir was not in the team for Scotland's second leg against the Czech Republic in a World Cup qualifying play-off. She pulled up injured during the warm-up and missed the game. Scotland still have a hurdle to clear. Sweden stand in the way of their return to a major tournament, and the World Cup is in Brazil.
Weir has been candid about what the shortlist means to her. She called inclusion an honour but said the award is very subjective, and that it means little if Scotland do not reach the World Cup. She has said she would give up both nominations for a place at the tournament with Scotland. That is a clear order of priorities, and it fits the way she talks about the national team.
Teammates have marked her standing too. Erin Cuthbert and Claire Emslie presented her with a commemorative shirt at a recent Scotland camp. For Weir, the award is personal. It is also a moment for Scottish women's football, because she became the first Scottish woman to receive a Ballon d'Or nomination.
Weir was at last year's ceremony in Paris, where she went with her husband, Josh. She was the only Real Madrid player there, according to The Athletic. This year, she goes into the next stage of the awards on the back of a club change and a season in which she played 50 matches and scored 32 goals, according to Ballon d'Or's player record. She has also earned more than 120 caps, which is the official term for international appearances, and scored 31 goals for Scotland.
Shortlists are a list of the best, not a winner's medal. The final result will be decided later. For Weir, the next target is the one she named herself: getting Scotland to Brazil.
