By OkayGoal
The most prestigious individual prizes in football are being handed out in London as the 70th Ballon d’Or ceremony takes place on Monday.
The award has been co-organised with UEFA since 2024, with Aitana Bonmati and Ousmane Dembele lifting the headline women’s and men’s honours in 2025.
Spain and London City Lionesses schemer Alexia Putellas and Bayern Munich and England talisman Harry Kane are being tipped to win the main individual awards this year. Follow the latest with our live coverage.
20:45 GMT: We are finally underway!
Some 45 minutes later than planned, seemingly due to the central London traffic, the Ballon d’Or 2026 ceremony is underway, with British singer Jorja Smith kicking things off with a performance.
Stay tuned for all the latest updates as they happen. A reminder of all the winners that will be announced tonight:
- Men’s Player of the Year
- Women’s Player of the Year
- Men’s Young Talent of the Year
- Women’s Young Talent of the Year
- Men’s Goalkeeper of the Year
- Women’s Goalkeeper of the Year
- Men’s Coach of the Year
- Women’s Coach of the Year
- Men’s Club of the Year
- Women’s Club of the Year
20:25 GMT: ‘Definitely my best season ever’ says Kane
More from England and Bayern Munich’s Harry Kane, who was speaking to DAZN: “A little nervous, I am not going to lie. Different from playing a match – it is out of my control.
“It is a special occasion, trying to take it all in and trying to enjoy it. It will be an incredibly proud moment if I do achieve it.
“It was my best season for sure. I won three trophies with Bayern Munich. Close [to reaching] the final of the Champions League and semi-final of the World Cup.
“If I had won those two things it would have been guaranteed for sure.”
20:20 GMT: Kane admits ‘nerves’
As you may have guessed, the Ballon d’Or start time has been delayed, which may or may not have something to do with the article chaos a few hours ago.
Harry Kane has just arrived at the London Palladium and has been chatted with DAZN on the red carpet, with the England captain admitting he is “nervous” ahead of tonight’s announcement.
20:00 GMT: Ballon d’Or statement after announcement chaos
The Ballon d’Or have announced a statement after accidentally publishing three articles on their official site all announcing different winners.
Harry Kane, Lamine Yamal and Kylian Mbappe all had articles published on them winning the coveted award, with the three articles later deleted.
An official statement now says: “Portraits of some Ballon d’Or nominees prepared by Ballondor.com were inadvertently published online.
“These articles had been prepared in advance for all nominees in the event of a win. They DO NOT, in any way, reveal the podium, which remains unknown to everyone at this time.”
We think it must surely confirm the top three though. More on this story can be found here.
19:45 GMT: The players have arrived
First glimpses of players suited and booted at tonight’s ceremony. Lamine Yamal has appeared on the red carpet ahead of potentially winning the Ballon d’Or at the age of just 19.
Arsenal’s Gabriel, Bukayo Saka and David Raya along with manager Mikel Arteta have also been spotted, with the latter two potentially set to claim the Goalkeeper and Coach of the Year awards.
19:15 GMT: London is ready!
Less than 45 minutes to go before the start of the 2026 Ballon d’Or ceremony, which is being staged in London for the first time. Will Harry Kane achieve his dream in his home city?
19:00 GMT: How does the voting work?
The 30-player shortlist for the main awards is voted for by a panel of journalists from France Football and L’Equipe.
One journalist from each of the top 100 countries in the FIFA rankings then votes for their top 10 from each list, with each position afforded a certain number of points.
- First Place: 15 points
- Second Place: 12 points
- Third place: 10 points
- Fourth place: 8 points
- Fifth place: 7 points
- Sixth place: 5 points
- Seventh place: 4 points
- Eighth place: 3 points
- Ninth place: 2 points
- Tenth place: 1 point
18:50 GMT: Top 10 men
One of these players will win the Ballon d’Or 2026.
Ousmane Dembele – PSG and France
Erling Haaland – Man City and Norway
Harry Kane – Bayern Munich and England
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia – PSG and Georgia
Kylian Mbappe – Real Madrid and France
Lionel Messi – Inter Miami and Argentina
Michael Olise – Bayern Munich and France
Fabian Ruiz – PSG and Spain
Rodri – Man City/Barcelona and Spain
Lamine Yamal – Barcelona and Spain
18:40 GMT: Here’s the women’s shortlist of 10
Who’s your winner?
Temwa Chawinga – Kansas City Current and Malawi
Melchie Dumornay – Lyon and Haiti
Caroline Graham Hansen – Barcelona and Norway
Patri Guijarro – Barcelona and Spain
Pernille Harder – Bayern Munich and Denmark
Ewa Pajor – Barcelona and Poland
Claudia Pina – Barcelona and Spain
Alexia Putellas – Barcelona/London City Lionesses and Spain
Alessia Russo – Arsenal and England
Khadija Shaw – Man City and Jamaica
18:30 GMT: Full men’s rankings, 11-30
No Jude Bellingham in the top 10.
11) Jude Bellingham – Real Madrid and England
12) Pau Cubarsi – Barcelona and Spain
13) Achraf Hakimi – PSG and Morocco
14) Vitinha – PSG and Portugal
15) Declan Rice – Arsenal and England
16) Ferran Torres – Barcelona/PSG and Spain
17) Vinicius Junior – Real Madrid and Brazil
18) Marc Cucurella – Chelsea/Real Madrid and Spain
19) Joao Neves – PSG and Portugal
20) Willian Pacho – PSG and Ecuador
21) Gabriel – Arsenal and Brazil
22) Lautaro Martinez – Inter Milan and Argentina
23) Nuno Mendes – PSG and Portugal
24) Luis Diaz – Bayern Munich and Colombia
25) Marquinhos – PSG and Brazil
26) Dayot Upamecano – Bayern Munich and France
27) Bruno Fernandes – Man Utd and Portugal
28) Julian Quinones – Al Qadsiah and Mexico
29=) William Saliba – Arsenal and France
29=) Sadio Mane – Al Nassr and Senegal
18:20 GMT: Montana on-song
Morocco-born, Bronx-raised French Montana has arrived on the red carpet. The hiphop star is a three-time Grammy nominee.
18:10 GMT: How can you watch the Ballon d’Or ceremony?
Check out our guide to the Ballon d’Or 2026 timings.
18:00 GMT: Arsenal’s Rice is 15th
Declan Rice is one place ahead of Ferran Torres, who scored the extra-time winner for Spain in the World Cup final.
15) Declan Rice – Arsenal and England
16) Ferran Torres – PSG and Spain
17) Vinicius Junior – Real Madrid and Brazil
18) Marc Cucurella – Chelsea/Real Madrid and Spain
19) Joao Neves – PSG and Portugal
20) Willian Pacho – PSG and Ecuador
21) Gabriel – Arsenal and Brazil
22) Lautaro Martinez – Inter Milan and Argentina
17:50 GMT: Men’s Ballon d’Or update
These are the players between 23rd and 30th.
23) Nuno Mendes – PSG and Portugal
24) Luis Diaz – Bayern Munich and Colombia
25) Marquinhos – PSG and Brazil
26) Dayot Upamecano – Bayern Munich and France
27) Bruno Fernandes – Man Utd and Portugal
28) Julian Quinones – Al Qadsiah and Mexico
29=) William Saliba – Arsenal and France
29=) Sadio Mane – Al Nassr and Senegal
17:45 GMT: Women’s Ballon d’Or update
Here’s how the women’s rankings between 30 and 11 look.
11) Yui Hasegawa – Man City and Japan
12) Klara Buhl – Bayern Munich and Germany
13) Mariona Caldentey – Arsenal and Spain
14) Wendie Renard – Lyon and France
15) Cata Coll – Barcelona and Spain
16) Mapi Leon – Barcelona/London City Lionesses and Spain
17) Esmee Brugts – Barcelona and Netherlands
18) Barbra Banda – Orlando Fire and Zambia
19) Tessa Wullaert – Inter/Como and Belgium
20) Selma Bacha – Lyon and France
21) Scarlett Camberos – Club America and Mexico
22) Manaka Matsukubo – North Carolina Courage/Chelsea and Japan
23) Momoko Tanikawa – Bayern Munich and Japan
24) Kerstin Casparij – Man City and Netherlands
25) Caroline Weir – Real Madrid/Lyon and Scotland
26) Alex Greenwood – Man City and England
27) Rose Lavelle – Gotham FC and USA
28= Lorena – Kansas City Current and Brazil
28= Melvine Malard – Man Utd/Chelsea and France
28= Vivianne Miedema – Man City and Netherlands
What time is the Ballon d’Or 2026?
Here are the key scheduled timings for the ceremony.
| Section | GMT timings | ET | PT |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red carpet | 18:00–19:40 | 14:00–15:40 | 11:00–12:40 |
| Official ceremony | 20:00–22:00 | 16:00–18:00 | 13:00–15:00 |
| Winners’ press conference | From 22:30 | From 18:30 | From 15:30 |
When does the Ballon d’Or 2026 ceremony start?
Here are the scheduled start times for the ceremony. You can also visit the Ballon d’Or worldwide timings list.
| Section | GMT | ET | PT |
|---|---|---|---|
| Official ceremony | 20:00–22:00 | 16:00–18:00 | 13:00–15:00 |
Why is the Ballon d’Or 2026 in London?
Paris’ Theatre du Chatelet has hosted the Ballon d’Or since 2019 but the ceremony will move to the London Palladium this year.
The first Ballon d’Or ceremony in London is a tribute to Sir Stanley Matthews, the English inaugural recipient of the golden ball.
L’Equipe editor Gabriel Hanot gave Matthews the award on December 18 1956 in a wood-panelled room at Blackpool Town Hall. Matthews is said to have responded with a “truncated speech” and received a “smattering of applause”.
“He was a pioneer,” the Ballon d’Or’s official account says of Matthews.
“Continually pushing the boundaries in diet and fitness and adopting methodologies that, at the time, were considered quirky at best by scoffing team-mates, but which are now cornerstones of modern-day practices.
“He was years ahead of the curve. Decades. And though it was only a ceremony of sorts, and though this year’s gala is being held 250 miles south of the Lancashire coastline, it can be stated that this autumn football is coming home. Back to where the Ballon d’Or all began.”
Ballon d’Or 2026 ceremony: Who’s hosting and performing?
Hugely popular journalist Kate Scott will be on expert hosting duties alongside familiar CBS Sports sidekick Thierry Henry.
France legend Henry was nominated for the Ballon d’Or nine times, finishing second in 2003.
Musicians Jorja Smith and French Montana will perform and organisers are promising “further surprises”.
British singer-songwriter Smith blends R&B, soul, jazz and electronic influences and will open the ceremony by performing her 2016 single, Blue Lights, to mark 10 years since the release of the record.
Morocco-born, Bronx-raised Montana is a three-time Grammy-nominated hiphop star whose hits include the Diamond-certified Unforgettable, which featured Swae Lee, the five-time Platinum No Stylist with Drake and the six-time Platinum Lockjaw with Kodak Black.
Where to watch Ballon d’Or 2026: TV channel, live online stream
In most territories, you can watch the 2026 Ballon d’Or awards ceremony free on DAZN.
Viewers without an existing DAZN account should create a free membership using their email address.
For other territories, visit UEFA’s Ballon d’Or broadcast list.