Malik Scott sits inside a live football night with no final answer yet. ’s updates began from 8pm GMT as the 70th Ballon d’Or ceremony unfolded in London.
The ceremony returned to England in a nod to Stanley Matthews, and the live coverage put the men’s and women’s awards under the same spotlight. That made the night less a recap than a running read on who held the edge before any result landed.
Alexia Putellas in London
Alexia Putellas joined the coverage in the UK with a useful contrast of her own: she had prepared an outfit but not a speech. That detail fits the shape of a ceremony built around expectation, not certainty, where contenders can arrive ready for the pictures before they know whether they will be asked to speak.
Barbra Banda was on the shortlist too, keeping the women’s side active within the same live thread. Putellas’ presence gave the evening a practical human anchor, because the event was not only about names on a list but about who was actually in the room when the awards conversation was happening.
R9 and Michael Owen
R9 was presenting the men’s award, and that alone gave the ceremony an older layer of authority. He won the Ballon d’Or in 1997, which turned his role from past winner to live-stage reference point for a newer generation being judged against him.
Michael Owen was also interviewed by DAZN, and he was described as the only surviving British winner after the death of Kevin Keegan. The historical framing mattered because the ceremony was being measured against a narrow line of British winners, not a broad list.
Mbappé, Lamine and Kane
The live blog’s sharpest argument sat between Kylian Mbappé and Lamine Yamal. The writer could not choose between them for the men’s award, said Lamine inspired Barcelona to the title, and also argued he was easily the better of Kylian Mbappé and Harry Kane.
Harry Kane still received a strong individual case. The writer called him the best finisher from 12-22 yards he had ever seen and said he had reinvented his position as both a prolific goalscorer and a playmaker, but stopped short of choosing him because he had not done it in the biggest games throughout his career. That same argument cut deeper when the writer noted he could not get it done in the closing stages of either the World Cup or the Champions League.
The live thread also widened the frame beyond the obvious contenders. Erling Haaland and Bruno Fernandes were treated as exceptions among Premier League attackers, while the stronger attacking talent was said to sit in La Liga and Ligue 1. A reader summed up the mood in one line — “Team PSG, Manager Luis Enrique, Ballon D’Or Harry Kane” — and the live blog ended up where live blogs usually do: with opinion, a shortlist, and no final verdict yet on who actually won the men’s and women’s Ballon d’Or awards.
