Image source, Getty Images

England and Bayern Munich's Harry Kane, speaking to DAZN: "A little nervous, I am not going to lie. Different from playing a match - it is out of my control.

"It is a special occasion, trying to take it all in and trying to enjoy it. It will be an incredibly proud moment if I do achieve it.

"It was my best season for sure. I won three trophies with Bayern Munich. Close [to reaching] the final of the Champions League and semi-final of the World Cup.

"If I had won those two things it would have been guaranteed for sure."

Ballon d'Or

Ballon d'Or statement on the published articles...

“Some profiles of nominees prepared by BallonDor.com were inadvertently published online.

"These articles had been prepared for all nominees and should in no way be considered as an indication of the final results or rankings”"

The Three Lions' main man, Harry Kane, is in the house!

Kane is making his way along the red carpet with his wife Katie Goodland.

Just a reminder, before becoming England's record goalscorer, Kane spent some of his career on loan at the likes of Leyton Orient, Millwall, Norwich and Leicester City.

Now, he is among the biggest names in the game at the top of his career.

A remarkable journey.

Image source, EPA

About 24 hours ago, Kylian Mbappe was at the Camp Nou causing chaos as Jose Mourinho's side beat Barcelona 2-1...

The French superstar has arrived on the red carpet as he seeks his first ever Ballon d'Or award.

Will the 27-year-old win the award?

Image source, EPA

And if you fancy watching Mbappe in action, you can watch the highlights below!

Sarah Dawkins
BBC Sport at The London Palladium

Waiting for guests to arrive here in central London and while we do, we’re being treated to a performance by French Montana on a London bus!

Image source, Getty Images/PA Media

Former England internationals Gary Lineker and Jamie Carragher has arrived at the London Palladium.

Carragher thinks Harry Kane should be awarded the Ballon d'Or award and Lineker touched on the red carpet "getting longer" as the awards ceremony has grown in popularity over the years.

Harry Kane has arrived and is on the red carpet now posing for photos with his wife, Katie.

First, it was England captain and Bayern Munich player Harry Kane who was announced as the winner of the 2026 Ballon d'Or trophy...

Image source, Ballon d'Or website

Then Barcelona's Lamine Yamal and Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe's both had separate articles stating they were the 2026 winners...

Image source, Ballon d'Or website

Image source, Ballon d'Or website

However, the winner announcements don't stop there...

Lionel Messi also had an article published on the Ballon d'Or website.

The article's headline read: "Lionel Messi defies time and conquers his ninth Ballon d'Or"

Image source, Ballon d'Or website

Sarah Dawkins
BBC Sport at The London Palladium

Some lucky fans have been let inside the “drop zone” area where players are arriving to walk the red carpet. Lots of selfie and autograph potential…

Keifer MacDonald
BBC Sport

For a moment, it seemed as though Harry Kane's dreams of winning the Ballon d'Or had come true.

It was shortly after 17:15 GMT on Monday when an article from the award's official website titled "Harry Kane wins the 2026 Ballon d'Or" began to circulate online.

It was more than four and a half hours before the winner of the game's most prestigious individual award was due to be announced at a star-studded event at London's Palladium Theatre.

The widespread sharing of the article caused confusion online, with some wondering whether France Football - the organisers of the award - had fallen short at the final hurdle of keeping the winner, who was voted for by journalists at the end of September, under wraps.

That was until further digging on the Ballon d'Or website revealed that some of the other favourites to win the award - Barcelona's Lamine Yamal, Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe, and Lionel Messi of Inter Miami - had also had similar pieces penned and published about them.

Spain

Spain boss Luis de la Fuente, speaking to DAZN: "I am proud and honoured to be here for myself and for Spanish football.

"Spanish culture has been recognised worldwide. We worked very hard to get here."

Spain's Luis de la Fuente has arrived in London for tonight's awards ceremony.

De la Fuente is one of the nominees for coach of the year alongside Mikel Arteta, Unai Emery, Vincent Kompany and Luis Enrique.

Image source, EPA

The start of the ceremony has been pushed back 30 minutes to 20:30 GMT. No reason has been given but there are big crowds there.

Past winners, Andriy Shevchenko and Michael Owen joined guests on the red carpet.

Ukraine's Shevchenko won the award in 2004, and is the only player to be awarded the prestigious award from his nation.

The 2001 winner, Owen, is one of four English players to have won the award, and is the second-youngest player to win the individual award behind Ronaldo.

Image source, EPA

Image source, PA Media

Keifer MacDonald
BBC Sport

There wasn't much that Dennis Bergkamp missed out on during his career, but winning the Ballon d'Or was one of them.

The Dutchman is regarded as one of the greatest overseas players to have played in the Premier League following his record-breaking move to Arsenal from Inter Milan in 1995.

When he made the move to Highbury, he did so as one of the best playmakers in European football, having recorded back-to-back top-three finishes in the Ballon d'Or.

In 1992, he finished only behind AC Milan's Marco Van Basten, who won the award, and Barcelona's Hristo Stoichkov.

Although he finished one place higher the following season, he was beaten to the award by Inter Milan's Roberto Baggio.

He wasn't the only Arsenal attacker who perhaps should have ended his career with the game's highest individual honour - the same could also be said of Thierry Henry.

After joining the Gunners from Juventus in 1999, the Frenchman quickly established himself as one of the most potent strikers in European football.

During his eight seasons in north London, Henry helped Arsenal win two Premier League titles — one of which came during an unbeaten season - and reach the Champions League final.

He became the first player this century to record at least 20 goals and 20 assists in a single season in one of Europe's top five leagues.

The closest Henry, Arsenal's all-time leading goalscorer, came to winning the award was in 2003, when he finished second behind Juventus and Czech Pavel Nedved.

Keifer MacDonald
BBC Sport

When the Ballon d'Or was first introduced by French magazine France Football in 1956, it was initially set out to crown the best footballer in Europe on a yearly basis.

That meant that, from 1956 to 1995, players from the five other FIFA confederations - including South America, Asia and Africa - were not eligible to win the award.

Even when the rules changed in 1995, it only opened the award up to non-European players who were plying their trade on the continent.

It was only in 2007 that the award became a global prize, with any professional player in the world eligible to compete for it.

Before that, though, a host of stellar names missed out on winning the Ballon d'Or, including two of the finest players South America has ever produced - Brazilian goalscoring great Pele and legendary Argentine playmaker Diego Maradona.

Who do you want to win the Ballon d'Or tonight and why?

And who do you think are the best players never to have won the award as well?

Click 'Get Involved' on this page to have your say

Image source, EPA

The 1997 and 2002 Ballon d'Or winner, Ronaldo, speaking to DAZN: "It looks amazing.

"Everybody on the street and everybody is excited.

"It is always going to be very beautiful for every player. It is good to be here."