Ballon d’Or 2026: Time, Favourites, Voting and Every Winner Revealed
London hosts the Ballon d’Or for the first time tonight. Harry Kane is the bookies’ favorite to become England’s first winner in 25 years behind Kylian Mbappe and Lamine Yamal.
The 2026 Ballon d’Or ceremony will take place at the London Palladium tonight, Monday 26 October, with proceedings kicking off at 8pm UK time. This is the first time that the award has been presented in London, and the choice of location is purposeful: it is the 70th anniversary of the award, and the first winner in 1956 was Englishman Stanley Matthews.
Seventy years later, another Englishman enters the night as a favorite. “Bavaria” striker Harry Kane has surpassed “Barcelona” player Lamine Yamal at the top of the betting in recent weeks, and “Real Madrid” player Kylian Mbappe has moved the French captain to the second place in the market. In the women’s race, Alexia Putellas is the clear leader.
Ballon d’Or 2026: key facts
- Date: Monday 26 October 2026
- Time: 8pm UK time
- Location: London Palladium, Soho
- Men’s favorite: Harry Kane (Bavaria and England)
- Women’s favorite: Alexia Putellas (London City Lioness and Spain)
- Owners: Ousmane Dembele (men) and Aitana Bonmati (women)
- Voting period: August 3, 2025 – July 19, 2026
Who will win the Ballon d’Or in 2026?
The men’s race has become a three-way contest, and the changes in betting suggest the jury may be more divided than it has been in years.
Harry Kane
Kane’s work, as always, is based on goals. He finally got the silverware that so long eluded him at Tottenham in Bayern Munich, and he will become the first Englishman to win it since Michael Owen in 2001. Kane said victory would be “unbelievable” and he would become only the fifth Englishman to lift the Ballon d’Or.
Kylian Mbappe
A late move in the bid for Mbappe made it a real contest. The Real Madrid striker has never won the Ballon d’Or despite several top-flight finishes, and a first win would close one of the most surprising gaps on any modern-day great’s CV.
Laminated Yamal
Yamal has been unlucky for most of the summer and remains the player many neutrals want to see win. There is one major hurdle: no teenager has ever won the men’s Ballon d’Or. The “Barcelona” winger, who turned 19 in July, would have broken the record for 70 years.
Who else is arguing? Owner Ousmane Dembele and Erling Haaland are both on the shortlist, but neither is among the main contenders for the bet. Paris Saint-Germain have the biggest presence on the 30-man roster, with at least nine players nominated.
How the Ballon d’Or voting works
The “Golden ball” is organized and voted on by the French magazine “France Football”. The ceremony itself is organized jointly with UEFA.
Who are the judges?
The selectors are an international jury of professional journalists. Each country is represented by one journalist in the top 100 of the FIFA ranking for men’s awards. One journalist from each of the top 50 countries for the Women’s Award participates. This year, the rating of September 8, 2026 was used.
Shortlists of 30 players are selected in advance by France Football and L’Equipe editors, a jury from the previous year and UEFA ambassadors. Luis Figo and Fabio Capello helped select the men and Nadine Kessler the women.
What are the judging criteria?
The judges are asked to weigh three criteria in this order:
- Individual performances, decisive and impressive character
- The team won appearances and titles
- Class and fair play
Only appearances between August 3, 2025 and July 19, 2026 count, so the 2026 World Cup falls within the voting window.
How are points awarded?
Each jury ranks 10 players from the shortlist. The scores are then given on a sliding scale:
With 100 judges in the men’s vote, the maximum possible total is 1,500 points, which a player can earn just by being the first choice of each jury. If two players complete the level, whoever gets the most votes for first place wins. If they are still tied, the second place votes are compared, and so on. France Football’s editor-in-chief resolves any dispute.
Closest Ballon d’Or votes
The current voting format has been in place since 2016. According to this format, the closest finish was in 2019, when Lionel Messi beat Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk by just 7 points. Given how the stakes have shifted this year, the 2026 vote could be just as tight.
The result of 2021 still interests many. Lewandowski was expected to win in 2020, but the award was canceled that year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Ballon d’Or 2026 male candidates
The 30 men’s shortlisted players are listed below along with the club or clubs they represented at the time of voting.
- Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid, England)
- Pau Cubarci (Barcelona, Spain)
- Marc Cucurella (Chelsea/Real Madrid, Spain)
- Ousmane Dembele (PSG, France)
- Luis Diaz (Bavaria, Colombia)
- Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United, Portugal)
- Gabriel (Arsenal, Brazil)
- Erling Haaland (Man City, Norway)
- Achraf Hakimi (PSG, Morocco)
- Harry Kane (Bavaria, England)
- Kvicha Kvaratskhelia (PSG, Georgia)
- Lamine Yamal (Barcelona, Spain)
- Sadio Mane (Al Nassr, Senegal)
- Marquinhos (PSG, Brazil)
- Lautaro Martinez (Inter, Argentina)
- Kylian Mbappe (Real Madrid, France)
- Nuno Mendes (PSG, Portugal)
- Lionel Messi (Inter Miami, Argentina)
- Joao Neves (PSG, Portugal)
- Michael Olise (Bavaria, France)
- Willian Pacho (PSG, Ecuador)
- Julian Quinones (Al Qadsiah, Mexico)
- Declan Rice (Arsenal, England)
- Rodri (Man City/Barcelona, Spain)
- Fabian Ruiz (PSG, Spain)
- William Lintas (Arsenal, France)
- Ferran Torres (Barcelona/PSG, Spain)
- Dayot Upamecano (Bayern, France)
- Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid, Brazil)
- Vitinha (PSG, Portugal)
Short list by numbers
- The most represented club: PSG, with at least nine candidates
- Bayern Munich: four candidates (Kane, Diaz, Olise, Upamecano)
- Arsenal: three candidates (Gabriel, Rice, Saliba)
- English Candidates: three (Kane, Bellingham, Rice)
- Participation in the Premier League: seven candidates spent at least part of their voting period with Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City or Manchester United, whose captain Bruno Fernandes is on the list.
- Past winners listed: Messi, Dembele and Rodry
Women’s Ballon d’Or 2026 favourites
Alexia Putellas, who moved from Barcelona to the London City Lionesses, is the main candidate for the third Women’s Ballon d’Or. His closest rivals in the betting are former Barcelona teammates Ewa Pajor and owner Aitana Bonmati.
Arsenal’s Alessia Russo and Manchester City’s Alex Greenwood are English players on the women’s shortlist. Among women, the Ballon d’Or was awarded for the first time in 2018, when Ada Hegerberg of Lyon won her first award.
England Ballon d’Or winners
Four Englishmen have won the Ballon d’Or and Kane would become the fifth. Players from England have won six times, including Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Tonight’s ceremony comes three months after the death of Keegan, who died in July aged 75. He remains the only Englishman to win the award twice while playing for Hamburg.
Most Ballon d’Or winners of all time
Ten men have won the Ballon d’Or more than once. Messi’s eight wins are a record and between 2008 and 2017 he and Cristiano Ronaldo were the only winners. Since Messi’s last win in 2023, the award has been given to a different player every year.
Recent Ballon d’Or winners
Modric’s win in 2018 is the only break in the Messi-Ronaldo era from 2008-2021. No awards were given in 2020.
What is the BOAT sound?
To celebrate the 70th anniversary, fans are being asked to vote for the All-Time Ballon d’Or, or BOAT. Voting is open on the official Ballon d’Or website, and fans can only choose from the 10 multiple winners in the table above. It costs €1 to vote and voters are entered into a draw for tickets to next year’s ceremony.
Other awards at the Ballon d’Or ceremony
The Ballon d’Or is not the only award given out tonight. Other awards include:
- Young Talent of the Year (Men and Women): formerly the Kopa Trophy, for the best under-21 player. Only former Ballon d’Or winners vote and they award 5, 3 and 1 points. Lamine Yamal won the men’s award last season.
- Goalkeeper of the Year (Men and Women): The Yashin Trophy, formerly named after Lev Yashin, is the only goalkeeper to still win the Ballon d’Or.
- Coach of the Year (Men’s and Women’s): formerly the Johan Cruyff Trophy.
- Striker of the Year (Men and Women): formerly the Gerd Müller Trophy, for the top scorer in all competitive matches last season.
- Club of the Year (men’s and women’s): for collective excellence and results. The number of Ballon d’Or candidates determines any tie that works in PSG’s favor on the men’s side.
- Socrates Prize: for humanitarian and charitable work off the pitch.
For more information on the players who have shaped the award’s 70-year history, take a look at the profiles of football legends.
Ballon d’Or 2026: Frequently asked questions
Answers to the most frequently asked questions about tonight’s Ballon d’Or ceremony.
What time will the Ballon d’Or 2026 ceremony be?
The ceremony starts at 8pm UK time on Monday 26 October 2026.
Where is Ballon d’Or 2026 being held?
For the first time in London, a ceremony was held at the London Palladium theater in Soho. The venue is celebrating the 70th anniversary of the award, which was awarded in 1956 to Englishman Stanley Matthews, the first winner.
Who is the favorite to win the Ballon d’Or in 2026?
Harry Kane is the men’s favorite ahead of Kylian Mbappe and Lamine Yamal. Among the women, the favorite for the award is Alexia Putellas.
Who won the Ballon d’Or in 2025?
Paris Saint-Germain’s Ousmane Dembele won the men’s Ballon d’Or in 2025, and Aitana Bonmati won the women’s award.
Who was the last English footballer to win the Ballon d’Or?
Michael Owen in 2001. Stanley Matthews, Bobby Charlton and Kevin Keegan are England’s other winners.
Who has won the most Ballon d’Or awards?
Lionel Messi holds the record with eight wins. Cristiano Ronaldo is next with five years.
How is the Ballon d’Or winner determined?
A jury of journalists from FIFA’s top 100 countries ranks the 10 players, each receiving 15, 12, 10, 8, 7, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1 points. The player with the most points wins, first place votes are used to break any ties.
Has a teenager ever won the Ballon d’Or?
No. No teenager has ever won the Ballon d’Or among men, so 19-year-old Lamine Yamal’s win will be a first.