The 2026 Ballon d’Or will be awarded at the London Palladium on Monday, with England captain Harry Kane, France forward Kylian Mbappe and Spain winger Lamine Yamal among the leading contenders for the men’s prize.
Spain captain Alexia Putellas is the favourite for the women’s award as the ceremony reaches its 70th edition. It will be the first time football’s most prestigious individual honour has been presented outside France.
The event has been moved to Britain as a tribute to Stanley Matthews, the England forward who won the inaugural Ballon d’Or in 1956. The red carpet is due to begin at 6pm GMT, with the ceremony starting at 8pm.
Ballon d’Or contenders and voting
Kane is the bookmakers’ favourite after scoring 73 goals last season, winning the Bundesliga’s Golden Boot for a third consecutive campaign and claiming a second European Golden Shoe.
The Bayern Munich striker also won the Bundesliga and led England to third place at the 2026 World Cup. Mbappe, who won the tournament’s Golden Boot and set an all-time goals record, is the second favourite, followed by Yamal, a member of Spain’s world title-winning squad.
The 30-player men’s shortlist also includes Argentina’s Lionel Messi and the last two winners, Ousmane Dembele and Rodri.
Putellas is bidding to win the women’s Ballon d’Or for a third time after guiding Barcelona to four trophies, including Liga F and Women’s Champions League titles. Victory would see her match the record of her former team-mate and reigning winner Aitana Bonmati.
Manchester City’s Khadija Shaw, Barcelona forward Ewa Pajor and Lyon midfielder Melchie Dumornay are also among the contenders. Shaw was the Women’s Super League’s leading scorer for a third successive season, while Pajor topped the Women’s Champions League scoring charts and Dumornay won a domestic treble.
The winners are selected by an international jury of specialist journalists. There is one representative from each of the top 100 nations in the men’s FIFA rankings and the top 50 in the women’s rankings.
Each juror ranks 10 players from a 30-player shortlist. The selections are awarded points on a descending scale from 15 to one, with the player collecting the highest overall score declared the winner.
Judges are instructed to consider individual performances and decisive impact first, followed by team performances and trophies won, then a player’s class and fair play.
How to watch the 2026 Ballon d’Or
The red-carpet coverage will begin at 6pm GMT, ahead of the main ceremony at 8pm. Thierry Henry and sports journalist Kate Scott will host the event.
French Montana and Jorja Smith are scheduled to perform at the gala. Live coverage will begin at 5pm GMT, while DAZN will stream the ceremony free of charge in most countries.
Viewers in France can watch on L’Equipe TV, while Telefonica will televise the ceremony in Spain.
The Ballon d’Or was created in 1956 by France Football journalists Gabriel Hanot and Jacques Ferran. The men’s award initially covered only European players, before eligibility was widened in 1995 and then opened to all professional footballers in 2007.
The women’s award was introduced in 2018, when Ada Hegerberg became its first winner. UEFA and Groupe Amaury, the owners of France Football and L’Equipe, have co-organised the ceremony since 2024.
Messi remains the record holder with eight men’s Ballon d’Or awards, including four consecutive victories between 2009 and 2012. Cristiano Ronaldo is second with five.
Thirteen awards will be presented in London, including the men’s and women’s Ballon d’Or, the Kopa, Yashin, Gerd Muller and Johan Cruyff trophies for both categories, the men’s and women’s Club of the Year awards, and the Socrates Award for humanitarian and social work.
