For the first time in its seventy-year history, the Ballon d’Or left Paris. On Monday 26 October 2026 football’s most famous individual prize was handed out at the London Palladium, the Soho theatre that has hosted the Beatles, Judy Garland and Frank Sinatra, and the night ended with a home win: England captain Harry Kane was named the best player in the world.
A red carpet worthy of the West End
The move to London was a nod to the award’s beginnings. Its very first winner, in 1956, was Sir Stanley Matthews of Stoke-on-Trent, then 41 years old. Vanity Fair Italia, which was inside the theatre and backstage, described a red carpet that winked at the Met Gala, with Thierry Henry and Kate Scott hosting and performances from Jorja Smith and French Montana. Stars of the modern game such as Kylian Mbappé, Lamine Yamal and Ousmane Dembélé mixed with guests in the stalls, while Lamine Yamal arrived with his family.
The evening also celebrated the women’s game. Alexia Putellas of London City Lionesses took the women’s Ballon d’Or for the third time, as The Guardian reported, and used her speech to tell young people that whether they are boys or girls, they should play, have fun and believe in themselves.
A win built step by step
According to BBC Sport, the 33-year-old Bayern Munich striker finished ahead of Kylian Mbappé and Lamine Yamal and is the first Englishman to win since Michael Owen in 2001. He follows Matthews, Bobby Charlton, Kevin Keegan and Owen as only the fifth English winner. His season explains why: 73 goals in 65 matches for Bayern and England, including 61 for his club, a Bayern record. Wembley’s arch was lit up in gold to mark the moment.
What Vanity Fair Italia found most striking was the story behind the numbers. Arsenal let him go when he was a boy, and his early career took him on loan to Leyton Orient, Millwall, Norwich and Leicester. He was never the quickest or the flashiest, but he kept working and kept scoring. On stage he thanked his wife Katie, his partner since their school days and the mother of their four children, telling her she had been his biggest supporter and that they had done it together.
Gold was the colour of the night, and it suits an autumn wardrobe just as well. A warm citrine pendant brings a touch of that golden glow, a bold men’s ring makes a quiet statement for him, and a smart men’s bag or a pair of evening earrings completes a red-carpet look of your own.
Sources: Vanity Fair Italia, “Dietro le quinte del Pallone d’Oro 2026: il glamour di Londra e la storia di Harry Kane” by Camilla Strada (27 October 2026); BBC Sport (26 October 2026); The Guardian (26 October 2026); AP News (26 October 2026). Featured image: AI-generated illustration.
