Ballon d'Or: Harry Kane favourite to win prestigious award after goal-filled season

Tonight's Ballon d'Or is one of the most anticipated in years, with Harry Kane the favourite to be named the world's best men's footballer.

Based on the 2025/26 football season and the 2026 World Cup, the prestigious trophy will be presented at The Palladium near Oxford Circus in London.

The ceremony begins at 8pm, with the winner's press conference taking place at around 10.30pm.

While 30 players were nominated by the magazine France Football's panel - including Arsenal's Declan Rice and last year's winner Ousmane Dembele - Kane has emerged as the frontrunner.

Speaking to Sky Sports News after Bayern Munich's Champions League draw against Arsenal last Wednesday, he said: "It'd be incredible if I [win the Ballon d'Or]. It'd be special for sure.

"I'd love to win it, but we will have to wait and see. A big night, but I'm not getting carried away."

For his return of 73 goals for club and country this past season, Kane is the bookmakers' favourite for the prize.

With Bayern Munich, he won the German domestic double and reached the semi-finals of the Champions League, losing to eventual winners Paris Saint-Germain.

This summer he led England to a third-place finish over France, after a semi-final defeat to Argentina, scoring six goals in the process.

Kane winning tonight would make him the first England player to be honoured with the Ballon d'Or since Michael Owen in 2001, and only the fifth overall, joining Sir Stanley Matthews, Sir Bobby Charlton, Kevin Keegan and Owen.

He would also be the first Bayern Munich player to win the award in 45 years.

Who else is in contention?

Despite only being 19, Lamine Yamal has already won plaudits and is regarded as one of the best players in the world.

He could seal that with a Ballon d'Or tonight, and become the award's youngest ever winner.

While not quite playing to his best with Spain, he was nonetheless part of the side that won the World Cup over Argentina this summer.

With Barcelona, he won La Liga and the Spanish Super Cup last season. He scored 25 goals and contributed 20 assists for his club and with Spain.

Yamal is also a two-time winner of the Kopa Trophy - an award for the best young player in the world, also judged by France Football.

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Also playing in Spain and long-considered one of the world's best strikers, France and Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe is also in with a shout for tonight's award.

It was a comparatively disappointing year for Mbappe, with Madrid pipped to La Liga by Barcelona, exiting the Champions League in the quarter-finals, and France - touted as the best team going into the World Cup - losing to Spain in the semi-finals.

However, on an individual level, Mbappe broke records this past year: He won the World Cup Golden Boot with 10 goals - the most by a player in a single edition since Gerd Muller scored 10 in 1970 for West Germany.

The haul makes the 27-year-old now the all-time scorer in World Cup history, with 22 goals since his first in 2018.

He was also the top scorer in La Liga with 25 goals, and scored 15 goals in the Champions League.

(c) Sky News 2026: Ballon d'Or: Harry Kane favourite to win prestigious award after goal-filled season