The 70th Ballon d’Or ceremony will take place in London on Monday, 26 October 2026, with coverage available on DAZN and a live stream on Kooora. The event begins at 21:00 Saudi Arabia time and 22:00 United Arab Emirates time.
This year’s awards will assess performances across the full season rather than the calendar year. The official evaluation period runs from 3 August 2025 to 19 July 2026, marking the fifth time the competition has used that approach.
The ceremony will be held in the English capital for the first time in the prize’s history. Alongside the men’s Ballon d’Or, organisers will announce the winners of the Yashin Trophy for the world’s best goalkeeper, the Kopa Trophy for the best young player, the best coach award and the best club award, as well as other honours recognising outstanding performers during the season.
How to watch the Ballon d’Or ceremony
| Event | Date and time | Broadcasters | Venue |
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| Ballon d’Or 2026 ceremony | Monday, 26 October 2026; 21:00 Saudi Arabia, 22:00 United Arab Emirates | DAZN; Kooora online | London |
The Ballon d’Or was created by France Football in 1956 after sports writers Gabriel Hanot and Jacques Ferran proposed an award decided by specialist journalists. It was initially known as the European Footballer of the Year and was restricted to European players, meaning figures such as Pele and Diego Maradona were not eligible.
That restriction was removed in 1995, when players of any nationality became eligible provided they played for European clubs. George Weah became the first player from outside Europe to win the award that year.
In 2007, eligibility was extended to players in leagues anywhere in the world, while national-team captains and coaches joined journalists in the voting process. France Football then worked with FIFA from 2010 to 2015, during which time the awards were combined as the FIFA Ballon d’Or. The partnership ended in 2016, when France Football restored the original award and FIFA launched The Best.
The voting criteria changed again in 2022, moving from calendar-year performances to the complete European football season. The jury was also revised to include one journalist from each of the top 100 nations in the FIFA rankings. In 2024, France Football began a partnership with UEFA to support the ceremony while retaining control of the Ballon d’Or brand and voting system.
Lionel Messi remains the record holder, having won the award eight times, ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo’s five. Johan Cruyff, Michel Platini and Marco van Basten each won it three times. Alfredo Di Stefano, Franz Beckenbauer, Kevin Keegan, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and Ronaldo each collected two victories.
The historical winners are: Lionel Messi (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019, 2021, 2023); Cristiano Ronaldo (2008, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017); Michel Platini (1983, 1984, 1985); Johan Cruyff (1971, 1973, 1974); Marco van Basten (1988, 1989, 1992); Franz Beckenbauer (1972, 1976); Ronaldo (1997, 2002); Alfredo Di Stefano (1957, 1959); Kevin Keegan (1978, 1979); and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (1980, 1981).
Other winners are Luis Suarez (1960), Eusebio (1965), Bobby Charlton (1966), Raymond Kopa (1958), Gerd Muller (1970), Zinedine Zidane (1998), Gianni Rivera (1969), Ruud Gullit (1987), Lothar Matthaus (1990), Roberto Baggio (1993), Hristo Stoichkov (1994), Andriy Shevchenko (2004), George Best (1968), Allan Simonsen (1977), Ronaldinho (2005), Stanley Matthews (1956), Omar Sivori (1961), Josef Masopust (1962), Lev Yashin (1963), Denis Law (1964), Florian Albert (1967), Oleg Blokhin (1975), Paolo Rossi (1982), Igor Belanov (1986), Jean-Pierre Papin (1991), George Weah (1995), Matthias Sammer (1996), Rivaldo (1999), Luis Figo (2000), Michael Owen (2001), Pavel Nedved (2003), Fabio Cannavaro (2006), Kaka (2007), Luka Modric (2018), Karim Benzema (2022), Rodri (2024) and Ousmane Dembele (2025).
