Football’s biggest night of individual glory moved to the West End this year. The 70th Ballon d’Or ceremony was held on Monday, October 26, at the London Palladium, and it ended with an English striker lifting the most famous trophy in the sport for the first time in a quarter of a century.

Bayern Munich and England captain Harry Kane won the men’s Ballon d’Or, while Spain’s Alexia Putellas won the Ballon d’Or Féminin for the third time. Here is a rundown of the winners and the best moments, based on coverage from NBC Sports and BBC Sport.

Kane ends England’s 25-year wait

Kane beat Kylian Mbappé, who finished second, and Lamine Yamal, third, to the top prize. He is the first Englishman to win since Michael Owen in 2001, and NBC Sports noted he became the fourth-oldest first-time men’s winner. The award was presented by Brazilian great Ronaldo.

Kane opened his speech with a joke about how nervous he was: “Wow, wow, wow. First of all, wow, I’m almost speechless, lucky I have this list here.” He said being in London “made this extra special and felt like a good omen.” He thanked his Bayern and England teammates and coaches, and paid tribute to Tottenham Hotspur, the club he joined at 11 years old: “I wouldn’t be where I am today without Tottenham for sure.”

The most emotional moment came at the end, when he turned to his wife, Katie, calling her his best friend and saying she had earned the award more than he had.

Putellas returns to the top

Putellas, who has recently moved from Barcelona to London City Lionesses, won the women’s award for the first time in four years, presented by Owen. Her former Barcelona teammate Ewa Pajor finished second, with Jamaica’s Khadija “Bunny” Shaw third and Haiti’s Melchie Dumornay fourth.

On the red carpet, Putellas said she had not prepared a speech because nobody knew who would win, calling the ceremony “the football party.”

The full list of winners

  • Men’s Ballon d’Or: Harry Kane (Bayern Munich, England)
  • Ballon d’Or Féminin: Alexia Putellas (Barcelona/London City Lionesses, Spain)
  • Men’s young talent of the year: Lamine Yamal (Barcelona, Spain)
  • Women’s young talent of the year: Vicky López (Barcelona, Spain)
  • Men’s coach of the year: Luis de la Fuente (Spain)
  • Women’s coach of the year: Pere Romeu (Barcelona)
  • Men’s goalkeeper of the year: Unai Simón (Athletic Bilbao, Spain)
  • Women’s goalkeeper of the year: Cata Coll (Barcelona, Spain)
  • Men’s striker of the year: Harry Kane
  • Women’s striker of the year: Charlyn Corral (Pachuca, Mexico)
  • Men’s club of the year: Paris Saint-Germain
  • Women’s club of the year: Barcelona
  • Sócrates Award: Bukayo Saka (Arsenal, England)

A big night for Spain

Spanish winners were everywhere. De la Fuente took coach of the year after leading Spain to the World Cup, Simón and Coll swept the goalkeeping awards, Yamal and López won the young talent prizes, and Barcelona’s Romeu, still just 32, was named women’s coach of the year. When accepting his award, Yamal said he believed club and country teammate Pau Cubarsí also deserved it.

Stars on stage

The ceremony doubled as a who’s who of football history. Former winners Andriy Shevchenko and Owen presented awards, as did Peter Schmeichel, Lucy Bronze and Rafa Benítez. Thierry Henry co-hosted alongside Kate Scott, and Patrick Vieira and Sol Campbell joined him on stage for the club awards.

There was plenty of showbiz too. “Game of Thrones” star Sophie Turner helped Alan Shearer hand out the striker awards, and Nigerian singer Burna Boy presented the Sócrates Award to Saka, who walked to the stage with a pronounced limp as he deals with an injury.

The evening got off to a late start. The ceremony was pushed back by around half an hour because heavy London traffic delayed the arrival of some players.

The rest of the men’s top five

Behind Kane, Mbappé and Yamal, former winners Rodri and Lionel Messi rounded out the top five. Messi did not attend. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Ousmane Dembélé, Erling Haaland, Michael Olise and Fabián Ruiz completed the top 10.

The bottom line

The Ballon d’Or’s first trip to London delivered a home-grown fairy tale. Kane finally has the individual honor that had eluded him through a record-breaking career, Putellas is back on top of the women’s game, and Spain left the Palladium with an armful of trophies.

Image: London Palladium 002 by User:FA2010 via Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain Mark 1.0