London will host the 70th edition of the Ballon d'Or ceremony on Monday, October 26, with the prestigious gala heading to The Palladium near Oxford Circus for the first time. The ceremony will recognise the world's top footballer based on performances across the 2025/26 campaign and the summer World Cup, covering France Football's eligibility window from August 1, 2025, to July 31, 2026. England captain Harry Kane enters the night as the frontrunner to claim the honour.
The 33-year-old Bayern Munich forward is priced as the 1/4 favourite following a sensational 73-goal campaign across all competitions. Kane struck 61 goals in 51 games for Bayern, including 36 in the Bundesliga to collect a second European Golden Shoe and inspire an historic league and DFB Pokal double. Internationally, he added 12 goals for England, netting six times in North America as the Three Lions finished third—their best World Cup run since 1966. That output secured him a second Gerd Muller Trophy, an accolade he previously shared with Kylian Mbappe on 52 goals in 2024. Kane is now bidding to become the fifth Englishman to win the award and the first since Michael Owen in 2001, having previously placed 10th in 2017, 2018, and 2024.
Kane faces competition from Spain's Lamine Yamal (7/4), who won the World Cup alongside a La Liga crown with Barcelona. World Cup Golden Boot winner Kylian Mbappe (14/1) is also in contention after his 10-goal tournament for France, sharing the same odds as Lionel Messi (14/1), with Fabian Ruiz (25/1), Rodri (33/1), and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (33/1) also listed among the 30-player shortlist revealed on September 8. The victor will succeed Ousmane Dembele, who captured the prize on September 22, 2025, ahead of Yamal and Vitinha after Paris Saint-Germain's treble.
The outcome is decided by an international jury of journalists featuring one representative from each country in FIFA's top 100 rankings. France Football's criteria instruct voters to weigh individual performance and decisive character, collective team trophies, and class and fair play. All attention now turns to London next week to see if Kane can cap his historic scoring year with football's supreme individual accolade.