Lamine Yamal has nudged in front of Harry Kane in the betting market this month, but the shift carries no weight. The 100 journalists who decide the 2026 Ballon d’Or sent in their ballots before a 28 September deadline, so Monday night at the London Palladium is the reveal of a decision already made.
A tribute to Stanley Matthews, 70 years on
The ceremony is leaving France for the first time in the award’s 70-year history. France Football created the Ballon d’Or in 1956, and Sir Stanley Matthews, then at Blackpool, won the inaugural edition. Seventy years on, the Palladium hosts the 70th gala, with the ceremony starting at 8pm local time on 26 October.
France Football and UEFA have co-organised the award since 2024. Ousmane Dembélé and Aitana Bonmatí, the men’s and women’s 2025 winners, are both back on the 30-player shortlists for the new edition.
Yamal and Kane in the frame
Yamal is 19. He won La Liga with Barcelona in the ballot period and lifted the World Cup with Spain in July, which made him the youngest player to win both the World Cup and the Euros. The market has swung behind him in the past week after months with Kane as the odds-on favourite.
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Harry Kane’s case is just as hard in print. He scored 73 goals in 65 games for Bayern Munich and England across the ballot period, won the Bundesliga and finished top of the European Golden Shoe standings.
How the jury works
One journalist from each of the top 100 FIFA nations ranks ten players from the 30-strong men’s shortlist. A first-place vote is worth 15 points, second place 12, and the scale slides down to one point for tenth. The three criteria, in that order of importance, are individual performances, collective performances and titles won, and class and fair play.
Both club and country count. Yamal has La Liga and the World Cup on his sheet. Kane has the Bundesliga and the European Golden Shoe.
