Harry Kane, Lamine Yamal and Kylian Mbappe battle for the Ballon d’Or as London hosts the star-studded ceremony tonight and prepares to award football’s most prestigious individual award.
England captain and Bayern Munich striker Kane is the favourite after an astonishing display of goalscoring last season, with 89 goals for club and country in just 81 appearances since the start of last season.
The 33-year-old is also bidding to become the first English winner of the award since Michael Owen in 2001, which would come in London and on the 70th anniversary of Sir Stanley Matthews winning the very first Ballon d’Or.
Teenager superstar Yamal has become Kane’s main rival amid an increasingly competitive PR campaign aimed to swing the votes of the 100 journalists from the world’s top 100 football nations after being part of Spain’s World Cup triumph, with the Golden Ball winner Rodri giving his team-mate his backing.
Mbappe broke the all-time World Cup goalscoring record this summer and won the Golden Boot thanks to a remarkable 10 goals, while Lionel Messi is also likely to place high in tonight’s results.
Follow all the latest updates and results from the Ballon d’Or, below:
Read MoreThere is only one clear Ballon d’Or winner – if you ignore the PR campaigns
Ballon d’Or 2026 power rankings: Who should win football’s biggest individual honour tonight?
Ballon d’Or 2026: Start time, odds, how to watch and nominations in full
Ballon d'Or LIVE: Updates and results from 2026 ceremony
- Harry Kane, Lamine Yamal and Kylian Mbappe battle for Ballon d’Or at London ceremony
- Kane is favourite to become first English winner of award since 2001
- Teenager superstar Yamal in the mix after Spain's World Cup win while Mbappe considered after breaking World Cup goalscoring record
- Star-studded ceremony to begin in London from 8pm GMT
- Countdown of men's and women's top 30s to begin this afternoon
Ballon d'Or Feminin rankings announced
16:28 , Mike JonesThe initial results of the Ballon d’Or rankings are starting to be announced ahead of this evening’s ceremony.
For the Ballon d’Or Feminin, Man City’s Vivianne Miedema, Kansas City’s Lorena and Chelsea’s Melvine Malard finished joint 28th.
Rose Lavelle of Gotham FC came in 27th.
Will Kane win the Ballon d'Or?
16:23 , Mike JonesHarry Kane has a good chance of winning the trophy.
He scored 73 goals for club and country this past season to hit the individually criteria.
With Bayern Munich, he won the German domestic double and reached the semi-finals of the Champions League.
This summer he led England to a third-place finish over France, after a semi-final defeat to Argentina, scoring six goals in the tournament.
Winning Ballon d'Or would be 'special' says Kane
16:10 , Mike JonesHarry Kane is one of the favourites to win the Ballon d’Or tonight and spoke about what it would feel like to win the award.
Speaking after Bayern Munich’s draw with Arsenal last week the England captain said: "It'd be incredible if I [win the Ballon d'Or].
“It'd be special for sure.
"I'd love to win it, but we will have to wait and see. A big night, but I'm not getting carried away."
Ballon d'Or - 21st century winners
15:55 , Luke BakerLet’s have a quick reminder of the players who have won the Ballon d’Or since the turn of the millennium.
Fair to say there are a few years in the middle where two specific names start to dominate...
- 2000 - Luis Figo
- 2001 - Michael Owen
- 2002 - Ronaldo (2)
- 2003 - Pavel Nedved
- 2004 - Andriy Shevchenko
- 2005 - Ronaldinho
- 2006 - Fabio Cannavaro
- 2007 - Kaka
- 2008 - Cristiano Ronaldo
- 2009 - Lionel Messi
- 2010 - Lionel Messi (2)
- 2011 - Lionel Messi (3)
- 2012 - Lionel Messi (4)
- 2013 - Cristiano Ronaldo (2)
- 2014 - Cristiano Ronaldo (3)
- 2015 - Lionel Messi (5)
- 2016 - Cristiano Ronaldo (4)
- 2017 - Cristiano Ronaldo (5)
- 2018 - Luka Modric
- 2019 - Lionel Messi (6)
- 2020 - Not awarded due to Covid-19 pandemic
- 2021 - Lionel Messi (7)
- 2022 - Karim Benzema
- 2023 - Lionel Messi (8)
- 2024 - Rodri
- 2025 - Ousmane Dembele
WATCH: Ousmane Dembele claims 2025 Ballon d'Or
15:40 , Luke BakerA flashback to last year. PSG and France star Ousmane Dembele won the 2025 Ballon d’Or - here’s the moment he collected his award during the glitzy ceremony in Paris.
Ballon d’Or 2026 power rankings: Who should win football’s biggest individual honour tonight?
15:22 , Luke BakerWho is going to win tonight? That’s the question on everybody’s lips.
We’ve power-ranked all the contenders for you right here:
Ballon d’Or 2026 power rankings: Who should win tonight?
Kate Scott and Thierry Henry to host tonight's awards
15:04 , Luke BakerThe ceremony tonight will be hosted by the unbeatable duo of Kate Scott and Thierry Henry, who have won plenty of fans (and sparked plenty of online conspiracy theories...) with their coverage of the Champions League on US network CBS.
During his playing days, Henry twice came in the top three of Ballon d’Or voting, finishing third in 2006 as Italy captain Fabio Cannavaro triumphed and coming second in 2003 behind Juventus playmaker Pavel Nedved.
Here’s a message from Kate and Thierry.
Kate Scott and Thierry Henry got a message for you... 😁
— Ballon d'Or (@ballondor) October 25, 2026
Watch the ceremony live on @dazn, from 6PM to 10PM (local time)#ballondor pic.twitter.com/W9b7WbKmi9
Harry Kane's family enduring painful wait for Ballon d'Or news
14:47 , Luke BakerHarry Kane admits the wait to discover whether he has won the Ballon d’Or is proving stressful for his family.
England captain Kane may be the odds-on favourite for football’s most prestigious individual award but would love to know the outcome in advance, although he accepts the suspense is part of the occasion, even if it makes things tougher for his family
“I try not to think about it; obviously it is hard not to,” he said. “There are always rumours and stuff flying around so you try to stay away from it.
“I think my wife would prefer to know and my family, it’s very stressful for everyone.
“I can see why they don’t tell people. They want everyone to go, all the big names there and there will be more people watching it if they don’t know so I can understand why.
“From my point of view, of course I’d love to know to just kind of see and not have to wait throughout the whole night.
“But it is their decision, I can’t control that. We’ll have to just enjoy it and try not to stress out too much.”
Club of the Year nominees
14:31 , Luke BakerBarcelona should walk the women’s club of the year award following their remarkable quadruple but on the men’s side, does Arsenal finally ending their Premier League drought and reaching the Champions League final outweigh PSG’s Champions League-Ligue 1 double?
Men's Club of the Year
- Arsenal
- Bayern Munich
- Bodo/Glimt
- Flamengo
- PSG
Women's Club of the Year
- FC Barcelona
- Bayern Munich
- Club America
- Manchester City
- OL Lyonnes
Coach of the Year nominees
14:17 , Luke BakerLuis De La Fuente will hope to be named men’s coach of the year after leading Spain to World Cup glory, while Arsenal’s Mikel Arteta and PSG’s Luis Enrique were both brilliant at club level.
On the women’s side, it’s hard to look past the architect of the quadruple-winning Barcelona side Pere Romeu
Men's Coach of the Year
- Mikel Arteta - Arsenal
- Luis De La Fuente - Spain
- Unai Emery - Aston Villa
- Vincent Kompany - Bayern Munich
- Luis Enrique - PSG
Women's Coach of the Year
- Jonatan Giraldez - OL Lyonnes
- Andree Jeglertz - Man City
- Nils Nielsen - most recently Japan
- Pere Romeu - Barceloana
- Elena Sadiku - Celtic/BK Hacken
Young Talent of the Year nominees
14:02 , Luke BakerThe young talent of the year awards could well be taken home once again by the 2025 winners, with Lamine Yamal looking a shoo-in for a third straight victory on the men’s side and Vicky Lopez having a strong candidacy once again for the women’s gong.
Men's Young Talent of the Year
- Kerim Alajbegovic (RB Salzburg/Juventus/Bosnia & Herzegovina)
- Ayyoub Bouaddi (Lille/Manchester City/Morocco)
- Pau Cubarsi (Barcelona/Spain)
- Yan Diomande (RB Leizig/Real Madrid/Ivory Coast)
- Lennart Karl (Bayern Munich/Germany)
- Eli Junior Kroupi (Bournemouth/France)
- Johan Manzambi (Freiburg/Aston Villa/Switzerland)
- Lamine Yamal (Barcelona/Spain)
- Ibrahim Maza (Bayer Leverkusen/Algeria)
- Warren Zaire-Emery (PSG/France)
Women's Young Talent of the Year
- Veerle Buurman (Chelsea/Netherlands)
- Vicky Lopez (Barcelona/Spain)
- Felicia Schroder (Real Madrid/BK Hacken/Sweden)
- Clara Serrajordi (Barcelona/Spain)
- Lily Yohannes (OL Lyonnes/USA)
Goalkeeper of the Year nominees
13:44 , Luke BakerRight, let’s run through the shortlists for a few other awards we’ll be seeing this evening, starting with the goalkeepers of the year
Men's Goalkeeper of the Year
- Yassine Bounou (Al Hilal and Morocco)
- Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid and Belgium)
- Gregor Kobel (Borussia Dortmund and Switerland)
- Joan Garcia (Barcelona and Spain)
- Edouard Mendy (Al-Ahli and Senegal)
- Emi Martinez (Aston Villa/Chelsea and Argentina)
- David Raya (Arsenal and Spain)
- Vozinha (GD Chaves/Colo-Colo and Cape Verde)
- Unai Simon (Athletic Bilbao and Spain)
- Matvey Safonov (PSG and Russia)
Women's Goalkeeper of the Year
- Ann-Katrin Berger (Gotham FC/Germany)
- Cata Coll (Barcelona/Spain)
- Hannah Hampton (Chelsea/England)
- Lorena (Kansas City/Brazil)
- Ayaka Yamashita (Manchester City/Japan)
Kane trying to accomplish rare feat as English winner
13:30 , Luke BakerIf Harry Kane does walk away from the London Palladium triumphant this evening, then he will join a very short list of English winners of the Ballon d’Or.
Sir Stanley Matthews won the very first edition of the award 70 years ago (with tonight’s ceremony taking place in London as a tribute) in 1956 at the age of 41 before Bobby Charlton claimed the prize exactly a decade later after England won the 1966 World Cup.
Kevin Keegan won it in back-to-back years in 1978 and 1979 to become the only two-time English winner before Michael Owen ended a 22-year English drought in 2001.
A quarter of a century later, can Kane become just the fifth Englishman to be given football’s most prestigious English award?
List of English Ballon d’Or winners:
- 1956 - Sir Stanley Matthews
- 1966 - Sir Bobby Charlton
- 1978 - Kevin Keegan
- 1979 - Kevin Keegan
- 2001 - Michael Owen
Copa Independent | Kane v Yamal – and is the Ballon d'Or just a PR contest?
13:12 , Luke BakerThe Copa Independent team of Miguel Delaney, Richard Jolly and Lawrence Ostlere discussed the merits of each Ballon d’Or candidate in last week’s episode, as well as whether the award has simply become a PR contest.
Give it a listen:
Welcome to uncanny valley...
12:56 , Luke BakerThe three main Ballon d’Or contenders (Kane, Yamal and Mbappe) have been immortalised at Madame Tussauds waxwork museum in London this week. As good as the waxworks are, looking at them is a typically unerring experience...
The unique way Harry Kane has reversed the Ballon d’Or debate
12:40 , Luke Baker“It’s very stressful,” said Harry Kane, though he had scarcely looked stressed as he gave a masterclass. It is too late to sway the electorate anyway.
The votes have been cast and either Kane will become England’s first Ballon d’Or winner for 25 years and Bayern Munich’s first for 45, or the serial scorer who was in his thirties before one of his teams won a trophy will find the most prestigious individual award elusive as well.
But if part of the case for Kane was apparent in his performance against Arsenal earlier this week, part of it comes from his consistency and character. On a night when Bayern began without Michael Olise, due to suspension, and Luis Diaz, courtesy of managerial choice, Kane was the outstanding player in Europe’s marquee match.
Richard Jolly assesses Harry Kane’s candidacy and how Bayern Munich’s midweek clash with Arsenal showed exactly why he deserves to win it
The unique way Harry Kane has reversed the Ballon d’Or debate
Harry Kane receiving the backing of teammates
12:21 , Luke BakerHarry Kane’s Ballon d’Or candidacy has been receiving plenty of backing from teammates at club and country level.
“It would be lovely, you always wish it for a team-mate of yours to have that success or to get that trophy,” said Bayern Munich winger Serge Gnabry. “Has he done enough? I think you always talk about a lot of different markers as to what is needed to win the Ballon d’Or.
“But he had an incredible year, so for me of course he’s done enough. He’s showed his quality and he’s a key player to our team so those are big attributes to win such a trophy. I would wish it for him, for sure.”
Meanwhile England teammate Declan Rice also backed the Three Lions skipper.
“For me, he's the clear winner,” Rice told TNT Sports after facing Kane in the Champions League with Arsenal earlier this week. “I think his numbers speak for himself. The year he's had has been remarkable.
“He’s obviously up against some other world-class players, but when you play with him, you realise how good he is, and when you play against him, you see how much of a pain he is.”
There is only one clear Ballon d’Or winner – if you ignore the PR campaigns
12:02 , Luke BakerThe reality of the modern Ballon d’Or is that it is a battleground akin to a political election, with campaigning and a PR drive crucial to securing the award. Harry Kane, Lamine Yamal and Kylian Mbappe have all been engaging in the proccess.
Players are desperate to seize the throne. There are legacies at stake here. Mbappe is the best player of his generation, the World Cup’s record goalscorer, and he will end his career as one of the game’s great forwards.
But it will not have escaped his attention that he is 27 and still hasn’t won the Ballon d’Or. Nor is he likely to this year, after failing to win a trophy with Real Madrid or France.
Our Chief Sports Writer Lawrence Ostlere will be at the London Palladium for the ceremony this evening and he has previewed the men’s award here, including naming his winner:
There is only one clear Ballon d’Or winner – if you ignore the PR campaigns
Countdown of men's and women's top 30s
11:45 , Luke BakerBefore we get to the ceremony tonight, there will be a countdown from 30th to 11th of both the men’s and women’s awards. Some early Ballon d’Or content to keep you satiated until the main event.
The top 10s will then be revealed during the ceremony itself.
We’re expecting the countdown for the women’s award to start around 4pm, with the men’s award at some point within the hour afterwards. When we get more specific times, we’ll let you know.
Women’s Ballon d’Or nominations
11:30 , Luke BakerMeanwhile, the women’s Ballon d’Or award appears to be a bit more open and shut than the men’s equivalent.
Aitana Bonmati’s three-year stranglehold on the award will come to an end after a horrific leg break ruled her out of action for a number of months and means she doesn’t make the shortlist. Her Spanish teammate Alexia Putellas is the overwhelming favourite to become a three-time winner herself by adding to her 2021 and 2022 awards.
Last season Putellas scored 22 goals in 45 appearances for Barcelona, helping them win the quadruple, and netted five times in eight games as Spain lifted the Nations League crown. She then made a stunning move to WSL side London City Lionesses this summer.
Her former Barcelona teammate Ewa Pajor is probably Putellas’ closest rival, having scored 31 in 40 for Barca, as well as providing 12 assists, and top scoring in the Champions League with 11 goals in 10 matches. But Putellas’ victory appears to be a fait accompit
Here’s the full list of nominees:
- Selma Bacha (OL Lyonnes and France)
- Barbra Banda (Orlando Pride and Zambia)
- Esmee Brugts (Barcelona and Netherlands)
- Klara Buhl (Bayern Munich and Germany)
- Mariona Caldentey (Arsenal and Spain)
- Scarlett Camberos (Club America and Mexico)
- Temwa Chawinga (Kansas City Current and Malawi)
- Kerstin Casparij (Manchester City and Netherlands)
- Cata Coll (Barcelona and Spain)
- Corventina Dumornay (OL Lyonnes and Haiti)
- Caroline Graham Hansen (Barcelona and Norway)
- Alex Greenwood (Manchester City and England)
- Patri Guijarro (Barcelona and Spain)
- Pernille Harder (Bayern Munich and Denmark)
- Yui Hasegawa (Manchester City and Japan)
- Rose Lavelle (FC Gotham and USA)
- Mapi Leon (Barcelona / London City and Spain)
- Lorena Leite (Kansas City Current and Brazil)
- Manaka Matsukobo (Chelsea and Japan)
- Melvine Malard (Manchester Utd / Chelsea and France)
- Ewa Pajor (Barcelona and Poland)
- Vivianne Miedema (Manchester City and Netherlands)
- Alexia Putellas (Barcelona/London City Lionesses and Spain)
- Claudia Pina (Barcelona and Spain)
- Wendie Renard (OL Lyonnes and France)
- Alessia Russo (Arsenal and England)
- Momoko Tanikawa (Bayern Munich and Japan)
- Khadija Shaw (Manchester City and Jamaica)
- Tessa Wullaert (Como and Belgium)
- Caroline Weir (Real Madrid and Scotland)
Men’s Ballon d’Or nominations
11:19 , Luke BakerHere’s the full list of 30 nominees for the men’s award, led of course by Harry Kane.
Jude Bellingham and Declan Rice are the other Englishmen nominated, while the likes of Erling Haaland, Bruno Fernandes, Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba are among the Premier League representation.
- Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid and England)
- Pau Cubarsi (Barcelona and Spain)
- Marc Cucurella (Chelsea/Real Madrid and Spain)
- Ousmane Dembele (Paris Saint-Germain and France)
- Luis Diaz (Bayern Munich and Colombia)
- Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United and Portugal)
- Gabriel Magalhaes (Arsenal and Brazil)
- Erling Haaland (Manchester City and Norway)
- Achraf Hakimi (Paris Saint-Germain and Morocco)
- Harry Kane (Bayern Munich and England)
- Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (Paris Saint-Germain and Georgia)
- Lamine Yamal (Barcelona and Spain)
- Sadio Mane (Al Nassr and Senegal)
- Marquinhos (Paris Saint-Germain and Brazil)
- Lautaro Martinez (Inter Milan and Argentina)
- Kylian Mbappe (Real Madrid and France)
- Nuno Mendes (Paris Saint-Germain and Portugal)
- Lionel Messi (Inter Miami and Argentina)
- Joao Neves (Paris Saint-Germain and Portugal)
- Michael Olise (Bayern Munich and France)
- Willian Pacho (Paris Saint-Germain and Ecuador)
- Julian Quinones (Al Qadsiah and Mexico)
- Declan Rice (Arsenal and England)
- Rodri (Manchester City/Barcelona and Spain)
- Fabian Ruiz (Barcelona/Paris Saint-Germain and Spain)
- William Saliba (Arsenal and France)
- Ferran Torres (Barcelona/Paris Saint-Germain and Spain)
- Dayot Upamecano (Bayern Munich and France)
- Vinicius Jr (Real Madrid and Brazil)
- Vitinha (Paris Saint-Germain and Portugal)
Kane vs Yamal vs Mbappe?
11:04 , Luke BakerThe men’s award tonight looks set to be a three-way battle between Harry Kane, Lamine Yamal and Kylian Mbappe.
England captain and Bayern Munich striker Kane is the favourite, aiming to be the first English player to win the men’s award since Michael Owen in 2001. Despite lacking a continental trophy, the 33-year-old’s ludicrous goalscoring record, plus his penchant for assists, have positioned him nicely to secure the honour.
Spain and Barcelona superstar Yamal appeared to be Kane’s closest competitor for a long time after helping his country to World Cup glory and his club to another LaLiga title.
But Mbappe has made a late surge and is now second favourite in the betting, aided by breaking the World Cup goalscoring record this summer after netting an incredible 10 times across the tournament.
Rodri, the Ballon d’Or winner in 2024, won the golden ball as the World Cup’s best player, while Khvicha Kvaratskhelia was arguably the standout player in the men’s Champions League last season after inspiring PSG to claim back-to-back titles.
When is the 2026 Ballon d'Or ceremony and how can I watch?
10:57 , Luke BakerA few basics to get us started.
The 2026 Ballon d’Or ceremony will take place in London this evening with the event getting underway from 8pm GMT. The event traditionally takes place in Paris but to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the crowning of Sir Stanley Matthews, the very first winner of the trophy in 1956, it will be hosted at the legendary London Palladium Theatre.
You can watch the ceremony on the official website ballondor.com or DAZN, globally, with a free live stream available from both, while Independent Sport will bring you updates, reaction and analysis in this very live blog.
2026 Ballon d'Or ceremony
10:36 , Luke BakerWelcome to The Independent’s coverage of the 2026 Ballon d’Or ceremony, which takes place in London this evening.
Harry Kane, Lamine Yamal, Kylian Mbappe or a real left-field choice? Who will leave with the iconic trophy?
Stick with us for all the build-up, best of action from the red carpet and then the ceremony itself.
