Ballon d'Or in London for first time: Kane favourite, four Bayern players nominated
The Ballon d'Or will be awarded at the London Palladium on Monday evening. Harry Kane is the bookmakers' favourite; Kompany is up for coach of the year and Lennart Karl for young talent of the year.
Symbolic image · Photo: Ank Kumar / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped and resized)
The Ballon d'Or will be presented in London for the first time on Monday evening. The gala at the London Palladium starts at 8 p.m. GMT and will be hosted by Thierry Henry and Kate Scott. According to UEFA, the venue is a tribute to the award's first winner, Stanley Matthews. Paris Saint-Germain's Ousmane Dembélé is the holder.
Among the 30 men's nominees, Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane is the clear bookmakers' favourite ahead of Kylian Mbappé and Lamine Yamal, Al Jazeera reported. Luis Díaz, Michael Olise and Dayot Upamecano give Bayern three more names on the list; no German player is among the nominees.
Bayern also feature in the other categories: Lennart Karl is nominated for Young Talent of the Year, and Vincent Kompany for Coach of the Year, alongside Mikel Arteta, Luis de la Fuente, Unai Emery and Luis Enrique. The club is also shortlisted for club of the year with Arsenal, Bodø/Glimt, Flamengo and PSG.