The 70th anniversary edition of the prestigious “Balloon d'Or“ awards kicked off in the English capital, with the ceremony being held in London for the first time in history. The glamorous event is hosted by the historic “London Palladium“ theatre. The start of the gala evening was postponed by 45 minutes due to heavy traffic in the British capital, and the hosts are French football legend Thierry Henry and British sports journalist Kate Scott.
The first official award of the evening was presented in the category of best young player of the year. The prize was won by Lamine Yamal, who received the award personally from Ukrainian football legend Andriy Shevchenko.
In the competition for the prestigious award were also Yamal's teammate in Barcelona - Pau Kubarsi, Lennart Karl from Bayern (Munich), Warren Zaire-Emery from Paris Saint-Germain and Yann Diomande from Real Madrid. When receiving the award, the young footballer demonstrated collegiality, stating in his speech that the award should have gone to his teammate Pau Kubarsi.
The ceremony continues with the presentation of the remaining categories and the expectation of the culmination of the evening - the name of the winner of the “Golden Ball“ for 2026.