Ballon d'Or: Kane and Yamal neck and neck, some bookies favour Yamal

📰 Three weeks before the ceremony, Harry Kane and Lamine Yamal are locked in a tight race for Ballon d'Or favouritism. 📌 Key points 🏟️ The ceremony is at the London Palladium on 26 October, the first outside Paris in the modern era. 📈 Kane was the bookmakers' favourite throughout August and September. 🔁 After voting closed on 28 September, some bookmakers moved Yamal ahead. ⚽ Kane scored 61 goals in 51 games for Bayern in 2025-26. 🏆 Spain won the World Cup; Rodri took the Golden Ball and Mbappé the Golden Boot. 📝 What happened 🏟️ The 2026 Ballon d'Or will be presented at the London Palladium on 26 October, the first time the men's award has been handed out outside Paris in the modern era, in a nod to the inaugural winner Sir Stanley Matthews. 📈 Kane led the market for most of the season. He was Europe's top scorer with 61 goals in 51 games as Bayern won the Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal, and added six World Cup goals as England reached the semi-finals. In early September he was a heavy favourite. 🔁 The picture has since shifted. According to Oddschecker, Yamal became favourite with some bookmakers after voting closed on 28 September. The Barcelona winger had 24 goals and 18 assists and won the World Cup with Spain at 19. Other aggregated markets still have Kane narrowly ahead, making it effectively a two-horse race. 🌍 The World Cup's individual prizes went elsewhere: Rodri won the Golden Ball as Spain lifted the trophy, and Kylian Mbappé won the Golden Boot with 10 goals to become the tournament's all-time top scorer on 22. Both are well behind Kane and Yamal in the betting. 📊 By the numbers • Kane 2025-26: 61 goals in 51 games for Bayern, 6 World Cup goals • Yamal 2025-26: 24 goals and 18 assists for Barcelona, World Cup winner • Mbappé at the World Cup: 10 goals, 22 in total 🔭 Why it matters This year's vote comes down to whether voters reward the club season or the summer's World Cup. A Kane win would make him the first English winner since Michael Owen in 2001; a win for 19-year-old Yamal would make him the youngest winner ever. We find out on 26 October.