The Ballon d’Or ceremony will be held in London rather than Paris this year, marking the 70th anniversary of Stanley Matthews becoming the first winner of the award in 1956. Harry Kane is already in London for the event, accompanied by his entire entourage, after Bayern Munich’s victory over Freiburg. His group has set up headquarters near the Palladium Theatre, where the ceremony will take place.
Confidence is high both within Kane’s inner circle and in the Bayern Munich delegation. Kane, the winner of “MARCA’s 100 of 2026”, is seen as the candidate with the fewest cracks in what is described as the most inscrutable Ballon d’Or in recent memory. He won the Golden Boot for the 25-26 season and led Bayern to the Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal and German Super Cup, as well as reaching the Champions League semi-finals. He also reached the World Cup semi-finals with England. In total, he scored 73 goals across all competitions, at an average of more than one goal per match.
Bayern Munich CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen, who will be present at the gala, said: “Of course, we would be absolutely delighted if Harry Kane won the Ballon d’Or. Harry sets new records year after year, but his 73 goals for Bayern and the England national team carry particular significance this time.”
Lionel Messi will not be at the ceremony, despite rumours circulating about the possibility of him presenting an award. Messi has won the Ballon d’Or eight times. His recent days have been hectic: after travelling to Oviedo to be honoured at the Princess of Asturias Awards, he returned to the United States to play for Inter Miami in New York, where the team suffered defeat against NY Red Bulls. He was present at the Messi Cup yesterday and is therefore not expected to travel to London.