Tactically, the Ballon d’Or has just copied my clubhouse bar. It is running a public vote to pick the “Ballon d’Or of All-Time”, the best ever from ten players who have won it at least twice. The vote costs one euro. And according to VoetbalPrimeur, you can vote as many times as you like.
One euro a ticket, as many tickets as you want. At our place that’s called the meatball supper raffle, and it’s how we paid for the set of bibs. The level of the big organisations has gone way up, people don’t realise.
There are some names on the list. Di Stefano, Beckenbauer, Cruyff, Keegan, Rummenigge and Ronaldo Nazario have two titles each. Platini and Van Basten have three. Cristiano Ronaldo five, Lionel Messi eight. And according to the latest estimates published by the Ballon d’Or, Cristiano Ronaldo is out in front.
The detail I like: you don’t vote for a player, you vote for a season. Cristiano Ronaldo’s 2008 Ballon d’Or leads with 75% of the votes, according to the organisation. Forty-two goals, the Premier League and the Champions League with Manchester United. My best season was the one where we had eleven players at every match. Nobody votes for that.
And what does the winner get? A cone of chips?
Not even that, Nadine. The BOAT is not an official award in the 2026 Ballon d’Or roll of honour, and no trophy will be handed out at the ceremony. Our raffle, at least, has a ham.
The ceremony, the 70th, takes place on 26 October at the London Palladium, with Thierry Henry and Kate Scott, and ten awards, five for men and five for women. The vote stays open until 11.59pm Paris time on the 27th. I got my folder out and wrote the date down next to our Sunday match. According to VoetbalPrimeur, the winner will be announced on 28 October. The club delegate, meanwhile, announces the winner of the ham that same evening.
It’s true, we checked: RMC Sport.
