England captain Harry Kane's camp 'increasingly confident' he will be crowned world's best footballer TONIGHT, Spanish report claims

Harry Kane's camp are increasingly confident that he can lift the Ballon d'Or tonight, according to a report in Spain. 

The Bayern Munich striker is among the favourites to lift the gong in London alongside Barcelona's Lamine Yamal and Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe. 

After scoring 73 goals for club and country in the 2025-26 season, he is gunning to become the first English winner since Michael Owen in 2001.

'The feeling surrounding Harry Kane is that, all things considered, his candidacy is the strongest,' write Spanish outlet Marca. 

Kane helped fire England to the World Cup semi-finals and also won the Bundesliga, DFK-Pokal, and German Supercup with Bayern. 

The most prestigious individual honours in world football will be awarded tonight, with the likes of Lionel Messi, Jude Bellingham, and Rodri also in contention.  

Presented by magazine France Football since 1956, it recognises the player judged the best in the world across the previous season. And since 2018, there has been the equivalent prize for the women’s game. Here’s all you need to know about tonight’s ceremony…

Why is it in London?

With the exception of 2010-2015, when Zurich took the honour, the Ballon d’Or ceremony is held in France – with the last seven years in the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris. But this year the Palladium in London’s West End will host - perhaps a good omen for Kane. UEFA explained in May that the choice of venue is symbolic in tribute to inaugural winner Stanley Matthews, who received his award at Blackpool Town Hall. Seventy years on, and having accumulated a little more glitz and glamour over the decades, it returns to England.

Tonight’s show will be hosted by Arsenal and France legend Thierry Henry for the first time, alongside presenter Kate Scott, who returns for a fourth year. The 45-year-old is best known for her work on Champions League nights at US network CBS Sports, where she is a regular host alongside pundits Henry, Jamie Carragher and Micah Richards.

Henry – who was nominated for the award nine times – said: 'London is the city I call home, and I have a deep connection to its football culture and the passionate fans here, so to be hosting here alongside my friend and colleague Kate feels like a natural fit.’

How is it decided?

For the men’s and women’s awards a shortlist of 30 players is decided by journalists from both France Football and L'Equipe newspaper. This shortlist is then ranked by journalists from around the world – 100 for the men’s, 50 for the women’s – with their rankings combined to decide the winner.

Jurors are instructed to consider these factors: individual performances and impressive character; collective performances and titles won; class and fair play.

Who is favourite for the main awards, then?

HARRY KANE

Harry Kane has the best chance of ending England’s 25-year wait for the men’s Ballon d’Or, with the Three Lions captain the bookies’ favourite to take home the award tonight. And for good reason. The 33-year-old enjoyed a staggering year, with his 73 goals in 65 matches bettered only by Lionel Messi’s 79 goals when he won the prize in 2012. After his starring role against Arsenal in the Champions League last week, Kane insisted he remains in the dark as to his fate tonight, a reality that is eating away at his wife, Katie. 'I try not to think about it. Obviously it is hard not to. There are always rumours flying around and you try to stay away from it,’ he said. ‘I think my wife would prefer to know and my family… it's very stressful for everyone.'

KYLIAN MBAPPE

Kane faces stiff competition though, with Kylian Mbappe a close second among the bookmakers tonight. Mbappe dazzled at the World Cup this summer, where he became the all-time leading goalscorer in the competition’s history, with a total of 22. However, his lack of silverware – both domestic and international – this year could count against the Frenchman.

‘There are many people that speak about me and the Ballon d'Or. Of course I've made history in the most important competition. Maybe it's a good year for this but people can vote according to what they think,’ he said. ‘I always think I'm the best (player in the world) but everyone has their own opinion.’

LAMINE YAMAL

Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal closely follows Mbappe and Kane in the odds. The 19-year-old has the best trophy collection of the top three contenders – having won the World Cup and LaLiga – but his subdued role in Spain’s triumph may count against the youngster. Yamal’s numbers are dwarfed by Kane’s, too. He recorded 25 goals and 20 assists across 57 appearances, although the Spaniard has argued that the award should go to football’s most entertaining star, not the most clinical one.

Like Mbappe, Yamal has been campaigning ahead of the ceremony as he bids to become the youngest-ever winner. ‘I think the Ballon d'Or should go to the best player in the world, full stop,' he said. 'Not to a player who has scored 80 goals, because if you score 80 goals, you get the top scorer award for that. Those are two completely different things that people do not understand.' Whether Yamal wins the prize tonight or not, he is certainly destined to take home the accolade at some point during what promises to be a special career.

Other candidates: Lionel Messi, Rodri, Erling Haaland, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.

Women's Ballon d'Or 

ALEXIA PUTELLAS

Meanwhile, Alexia Putellas is on course to end Aitana Bonmati’s three-year grip on the Ballon d’Or Feminin tonight. Barcelona midfielder Bonmati is out of the running after suffering a fractured fibula last November, keeping the superstar sidelined until May. She helped guide her side to an historic quadruple but her efforts were not enough to make the shortlist this year. With 24 goals and 13 assists, Bonmati’s former Barca team-mate Putellas – who this summer joined the London City Lionesses – led the way in the midfielder’s absence and is the favourite to be recognised for her exceptional year.

Other candidates: Ewa Pajor, Khadija Shaw, Pernille Harder.

It’s not just player of the year, right?

The men’s and women’s prize are the two most eye-catching on offer – PSG’s Ousmane Dembele won it last year for the first time and Barcelona’s Aitana Bonmati landed the women’s crown for the third year in a row.

But there are also 11 more awards in a celebration of European football: men’s and women’s Kopa Trophy, for players under 21; the Yashin Trophy, for best goalkeeper, Gerd Muller Trophy for best striker, and Johan Cruyff Trophy for best coach. 

There are also men’s and women’s awards for Club of the Year – and a Socrates Award, first given out in 2022 and for a footballer’s humanitarian work. 

Last year that went to the Xana Foundation, founded by PSG boss Luis Enrique to support families with children facing serious illnesses – the Enriques’ daughter Xana died in August 2019 after battling bone cancer.

This year will also see the addition of a new prize: the BOAT (Ballon d'Or of All Time). The organisers have been keen to stress that it is not an official award like the ones above but it has already caused plenty of debate online anyway.

Fans are being asked to log-in to the Ballon d'Or website to vote on which past winner they believe was the best. However, they can only pick from one of the ten players to have picked up the golden ball on at least two occasions.

And those who pay the €1 fee to cast their vote will earn a chance at tickets to next year's ceremony.

How to watch

The ceremony will be free to watch on DAZN for UK viewers.

The Ballon d'Or's official website will also provide live updates. 

Who our experts are backing…

OLIVER HOLT: Harry Kane

His record with Bayern Munich has been astonishing, up there with the goalscoring feats of Messi and Ronaldo in their pomp. To hit 73 goals, including his England strikes, in a single season is the stuff of legend and he came desperately close, with Jude Bellingham, to leading his country to its first World Cup final for 60 years. His closest challenger, Lamine Yamal, won the World Cup with Spain and is a stellar talent but did not have a good enough tournament individually to dislodge Kane.

NATHAN SALT: Harry Kane

It has to be Kane. I am one of those that puts a lot of stock in winning the World Cup and Lamine Yamal, my runner up tonight, did that. But the goal totals are staggering, and for that reason it has to be Kane lifting the award tonight. Kane won his domestic league with Bayern Munich, won the Super Cup, reached the semi-finals of the Champions League, and finished third in the World Cup, becoming England's all-time leading World Cup scorer in the process. His total of 73 goals last season blows his competition out of the water. Yamal is an exceptional player and will win multiple Ballon d'Or awards in his career. This year it's got to be Kane, though.

IAN HERBERT: Harry Kane

For me, it can only be Harry Kane after a year of such extraordinary delivery: those 61 goals in 51 appearances for Bayern Munich last season and the highest ever goal tally by an Englishman in a single Champions League campaign. That from a creator and initiator, who also builds so much in the deeper-lying areas. The circumstances and pressure under which you achieve must also be factored in and that’s what made his six goals at the World Cup something quite apart. Kylian Mbappe and Lamine Yamal feature in the Ballon d'Or but they pale by comparison.

BOBBY MANZI: Harry Kane

It has to be Harry Kane. Averaged over a goal a game and had a brilliant World Cup. The best goalscorer on the planet. It’s indisputable. He’s already claimed the European Golden Shoe and football’s most prestigious individual award must follow.

Women's Ballon d'Or

TARA ANSON-WALSH: Alexia Putellas

The former Barcelona captain's legacy is already firmly secure with two past wins in this competition, and there's nothing getting in the way of her clinching a record-equalling third tonight to join her national team-mate Aitana Bonmati. Aggrieved NWSL fans will continue to deplore their lack of recognition at this ceremony, but the misalignment between the dates the award covers and the north Americans' season means that the focus remains on Europe, and Putellas its queen. She captained Barcelona to a continental quadruple in 2025-26, clinching the Liga F, Copa de la Reina, Spanish Super Cup and Champions League, and Bonmati's absence from the competition due to injury only makes the end result more clear-cut.