Kane is present in London for the Ballon d'Or and Messi is not expected

To mark the 70th anniversary (1956) in which Stanley Matthews was awarded as the first-ever Ballon d'Or , the ceremony will take place in London and not, as is usually the case, in Paris . There, in 1993, a Harry Kane was born who has made his presence felt... in the hope of being rewarded tonight.

Winner of "MARCA's 100 of 2026" , confidence is sky-high both in the English striker's inner circle and within the Bayern Munich delegation. After yesterday afternoon's match against Freiburg , which ended in victory for the Bavarian side, he is already in London accompanied by his entire entourage... and they have set up a headquarters near the Palladium Theatre , where the ceremony will take place.

The truth is that it is the most inscrutable Ballon d'Or in recent memory. However, the feeling surrounding Harry Kane is that, on balance, his candidacy is the one with the fewest cracks. Golden Boot of the 25-26 season, he led Bayern to winning the Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal and German Super Cup... as well as reaching the semifinals of the Champions League , which he also reached with England at the World Cup . In total, he recorded 73 goals across all competitions with an average of more than one goal per match.

"Of course, we would be absolutely delighted if Harry Kane won the Ballon d'Or . Harry sets new records year after year, but his 73 goals for Bayern and the England national team carry particular significance this time," said Jan-Christian Dreesen, CEO of Bayern Munich , who will be present at the gala.

He is not one of the big favorites... but he is among the group of contenders. Above all, after delivering another legendary World Cup . However, despite the rumors circulating about the possibility of him presenting an award tonight, Leo Messi will not be present at the Ballon d'Or ceremony. An award that he has previously won on as many as eight occasions.

The last few days for the Rosario star have been absolutely hectic. After traveling to Oviedo to be honored at the Princess of Asturias Awards , he returned to the United States to play in New York with Inter Miami. He could not avoid defeat, however, against NY Red Bulls. Yesterday he was present at the Messi Cup and, therefore, he is not expected to travel to London.