When Flórián Albert won the 1967 Ballon d’Or he was presented with the award in his kitchen.
Having been forced to pull out of Hungary’s clash with the USSR due to injury, the plan to hand Albert the trophy in front of a packed stadium was quashed. Károly Sós, Albert’s manager, bluntly rejected the suggestion that his player would be individually recognized in the team hotel, so France Football’s editor-in-chief at the time, Max Urbini, had to host an impromptu ceremony next to the refrigerator. Albert’s wife, the revered actor Irén Bársony, was the only spectator.
The modern ceremony looks a little different.
Aside from a distinct lack of washing up, the London Palladium offers room for a few more onlookers than the winner’s spouse. On soccer’s answer to Oscar night, the stars duly came out.
• Ballon d’Or 2026 LIVE Rankings RevealSophie Turner
Sophie Turner was an unmissable figure. | Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images
The long-serving Game of Thrones star Sophie Turner didn’t let an occasion of this heft pass her by. The actor synonymous with her role as Sansa Stark found herself rubbing shoulders with the elite world of soccer, a family which isn’t quite as incestuous as her former on-screen colleagues.
French Montana
.@FrencHMonTanA opens the 70th Ballon d’Or Ceremony red carpet!#ballondor pic.twitter.com/D04iZPPbTl
— Ballon d’Or (@ballondor) October 26, 2026
The Moroccan-American rapper French Montana had the distinction of “opening” the red carpet affair, although he did look a little unstable while staggering around the top of a double-decker bus going a little too fast around a corner.
Burna Boy
Burna Boy loves a soccer event. | FRANCK FIFE/AFP/Getty Images
French Montana was hardly the only musician the grace the red carpet. Burna Boy, the Nigerian rapper who performed alongside Shakira at seemingly every World Cup fixture over the summer, was also in attendance.
Unlike in North America, the artist did not have to sing for his supper on Monday.
Jorja Smith
Jorja Smith made the trip to London. | Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images
Much like Montana, U.K. artist Jorja Smith was at the ceremony ahead of a performance. The singer from the West Midlands is not a notable fan of the sport but has previously represented the esteemed charity Football Beyond Borders which harnesses children’s love of the game to prove educational and social support to young people.
Paddy Pimblett
Paddy Pimblett was suited up. | Toby Shepheard/AFP/Getty Images
The outspoken MMA star Paddy Pimblett is a proud Liverpool fan and very much unconvinced by those who support the reigning Premier League champions. “I hate Arsenal fans,” Paddy the Baddy told Wayne Rooney last season. “Arsenal fans are the worst fanbase in the world.”
Hopefully Mikel Arteta hadn’t heard those comments when the pair were milling around the red carpet together.
Caroline Daur
Caroline Daur is familiar with striking a pose. | Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images
The German model is only a poser in the very literal sense. An avid soccer fan, Caroline Daur was at the 2026 World Cup final, although, in the absence of Germany, supported Spain.
Fabrizio Romano
“That’s not normal at all!” 😳
Fabrizio Romano gives Kylian Mbappé his flowers 💐 pic.twitter.com/MfrKIO8Rph
— DAZN Football (@DAZNFootball) October 26, 2026
Soccer’s most prolific (and divisive) social media personality stepped out from behind his X profile and put down the phone for some actual physical human interaction. Romano was still able post throughout the evening in between awkward addresses to camera as one of DAZN’s pundits.
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