The Ballon d’Or is leaving Paris for the first time in its 70-year history, and it’s heading to London.
On 26 October 2026, football’s most contested individual prize will be handed out in the English capital. For anyone following the sport’s annual award season, the announcement landed with real weight. Paris has always been the backdrop for this ceremony, as natural to the Ballon d’Or as the Théâtre du Châtelet itself. The move to London is not simply a change of address.
Why London? The Stanley Matthews Connection
The choice of city carries a deliberate nod to history. France Football, which created the award in 1956 and still presents it under the L’Équipe Group, chose London partly as a tribute to Sir Stanley Matthews, the English winger who won the inaugural Ballon d’Or seven decades ago. Hosting the 70th edition of the ceremony in the country that produced its first winner makes a certain kind of sense.
Since 2024, the award has been co-organised with UEFA, and the governing body backed the switch as a way to broaden the award’s global footprint. Whether you find the symbolism touching or a little self-congratulatory probably depends on how much you enjoy anniversary branding. Either way, the logistics are confirmed: London on 26 October.
The ceremony has typically taken place at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, a grand, ornate setting that gave the night a particular kind of European theatre. What London venue will host remains unconfirmed at the time of writing, though something suitably dramatic would seem appropriate given the occasion.
Who Won It Last Year?
For anyone needing a refresher: the 2025 Ballon d’Or went to Ousmane Dembélé on the men’s side and Aitana Bonmatí on the women’s side, with the ceremony held on 22 September 2025 at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris.
Dembélé’s win was not without controversy. His campaign rested largely on Paris Saint-Germain’s historic run to their first-ever Champions League title, a season in which he contributed 19 goals in 39 games. Critics pointed out that he started only 11 games in Ligue 1 that year and missed five of France’s six World Cup qualifying fixtures through injury. But Ballon d’Or voters reward peaks, and Dembélé peaked at exactly the right time.
Bonmatí, meanwhile, was collecting her third award, underscoring just how dominant she and Barcelona’s women’s team have been over this period.
The 2026 Race: Who’s in Contention?
No official shortlist has been released at this stage, that typically arrives in late summer, ahead of the October ceremony. But the 2025-26 season has already thrown up some compelling individual stories, and the race looks genuinely open in a way it hasn’t for years.
Harry Kane
The name that keeps coming up. Kane has had a remarkable season for Bayern Munich, 61 goals and seven assists in 51 appearances across all competitions, claiming both the Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal and winning the European Golden Shoe. Those numbers are extraordinary by any standard. The fact that the ceremony is in London, his home city, adds an irresistible subplot.
The counter-argument: Bayern were knocked out by PSG in the Champions League semi-finals, which always costs votes. And for all the goals, this remains a collective award as much as an individual one. If England have a strong World Cup in North America this summer, Kane’s case strengthens considerably.
Lamine Yamal
Finished second in the 2025 vote, behind Dembélé, and had arguably the more compelling case across the full season. The Barcelona teenager put up 24 goals and 18 assists in all competitions, carried his side through a La Liga title campaign, and spent significant portions of the year looking like the best footballer on the planet. He’s still only 18.
There’s a complication: Yamal has suffered a hamstring injury that’s cut short his club season, and whether he’s fit enough to light up the 2026 World Cup for Spain remains uncertain. If he plays and performs, he’s back in the conversation. If he misses it, his chances of winning in 2026 likely evaporate, though he’ll have plenty of opportunities in subsequent years to collect this award.
Bukayo Saka
Arsenal won their first Premier League title in 22 years this season, and Saka has been central to that. He also scored the goal that put Arsenal into the Champions League final, a first in the club’s history. His numbers for 2025-26 stand at 22 goals and 14 assists. Add in England’s World Cup campaign this summer, and Saka’s case could grow considerably between now and October.
The persistent issue for Saka, as for Arsenal generally, is that the Ballon d’Or tends to reward individuals who dominate conversations on their own terms. Saka is exceptional but often described as part of a system rather than the man carrying it.
Declan Rice
Similarly, Rice has been essential to Arsenal’s title run, arguably more important to their structure than any other individual. He’s the kind of player whose absence is felt more than his presence is celebrated, which is not a great profile for individual award recognition. A Champions League winner’s medal and a strong World Cup could change that calculus.
Kylian Mbappé
After a difficult 2024-25 at Real Madrid, Mbappé has rediscovered something this season, contributing 22 goals and 14 assists. Whether that’s enough to reclaim the summit of the Ballon d’Or rankings after years of near-misses is debatable. He’s technically always in contention. Whether voters feel this has been his defining campaign is less clear.
Vinícius Júnior
Had a miserable 2025 by his own standards, just eight La Liga goals over the course of the calendar year. His case for the 2026 award depends heavily on a big finish to the season and, crucially, how Brazil perform at the World Cup this summer.
Vitinha
The PSG midfielder is the name that keeps appearing in these discussions without quite getting the mainstream recognition he deserves. He leads Europe’s top five leagues for progressive passes and is among the very best ball-progressors in the game. If PSG do something significant in the Champions League, Vitinha will be impossible to ignore, though central midfielders have historically struggled to win this award.
The World Cup Factor
This is the variable that makes the 2026 race genuinely unpredictable. The FIFA World Cup takes place this summer in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Historically, strong tournament performances count for a great deal in Ballon d’Or voting; Messi’s 2023 win was essentially a delayed tribute to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Players like Yamal, Kane, Saka, and Mbappé all have real chances of starring in North America. Someone could emerge from the tournament in July having transformed their candidacy completely. Someone currently outside the top tier of conversations could put themselves right back in it.
The voting period covers the season from August 2025 to roughly the conclusion of the Club World Cup in July, which means World Cup performances will count.
The Women’s Award
On the women’s side, Aitana Bonmatí is the defending champion for the third time, and the question is simply whether anyone can displace her. Barcelona’s continued dominance in the women’s game makes it difficult to look past her as a frontrunner again. The official shortlist, when released, will clarify the picture.
Key Dates and Details
- Ceremony date: 26 October 2026
- Host city: London, England (first time outside Paris in the award’s history)
- Organised by: France Football (L’Équipe Group), co-organised with UEFA since 2024
- Voting: A global panel of journalists, each selecting their top 10 from a 30-player shortlist
- Shortlist announcement: Expected late summer 2026
The official shortlist of 30 players is typically announced by France Football in August. All confirmed information for the 2026 edition is being published at ballondor.com as it becomes available.
Final Thought
This is as open a Ballon d’Or race as there has been for years. The era of Messi and Ronaldo hoarding the award feels genuinely over; the last five winners have been five different players. Kane has the goals. Yamal has the talent and the story. Saka has the timing. And whoever has the best summer at the World Cup will walk into October with serious momentum.
London in late October. The 70th edition. A ceremony that means something to the history of the game, in the country that started it all. Whatever happens on the night, the build-up is going to be worth watching.
