That’s the end of the show, folks. Congratulations to Lionel Messi and Aitana Bonmatí, two of the most deserving and predictable winners of this prestigious trophy, who both led their nations to World Cup glory and deserve this moment in the sun. Thanks for reading and for your emails and tweets. Until next year! I’m not sure this Ballon d’Or is really the trophy that crowns Messi at the undisputed GOAT – there’s another golden trophy won last year that probably sealed it – but it certainly doesn’t hurt. None of these ‘GOAT’ comparisons are helpful, by the way, especially when you are talking about Messi and Maradona, Messi and Pelé. How can you possibly compare talents in different eras, different opponents, coaching, and arrive at a fair and even comparison? It’s impossible. But still the debate rages on in the backwater of the internet. One of my favourite memes is when people start using the above Rio Ferdinand clip to compare, say, Lidl v Aldi. Tickles me more than it should. Think of how dominant Haaland was this year with 56 goals, and then remember that Messi scored 91 back in 2012. Just an absolute joke. Commiserations to Haaland, who I thought genuinely might have a shot at the Ballon d’Or this year, even after the World Cup. But this is ultimately a subjective award, based opinions of journalists (imagine), and the outpouring of emotion towards Messi was too much for anyone else to conquer. Haaland scored 56 goals for club and country. He could have scored 70 and still not won it. Have to say Drogba is a brilliant host. Oozes confidence and class. Have to say the invite for Novak Djokovic to give the female award was, at best, misjudged. And there’s no way that this ceremony would have been held during a men’s international break. So there’s a lot of talk about progress, even at this ceremony but actions > words. It’s go-time, kids! The three little Messis come to the stage to give their father a hug. That’s nice. One of them leaves Drogba hanging with a high five. Lovely stuff. The first Inter Miami player in history, then, to win the Ballon d’Or. Beckham, one of Miami’s owners, has his say: It’s very special to say he’s a Miami player and he’s in our city. He’ll celebrate this with his team-mates and his family in his way. We’ll do our best to celebrate it in the Miami way. I’m sure we can do a good party.” Messi speaks: I couldn’t imagine having the career that I’ve had. Everything that I’ve achieved. The fortune I’ve had playing for the best team in the world, the best team in history [Barcelona … not PSG or Miami, folks]. It’s nice to win these individual trophies. To win the Copa America and then the World Cup, to get it done is amazing. He is asked if this Ballon d’Or is more special than the others, because of the World Cup. “All of them are special for different reasons”. His kids looks SO bored. One of them is slumped wonderfully in his seat. Immaculate vibes. There is confirmation that Erling Haaland finishes as the runner up, and Kylian Mbappé is third, which means that Kevin De Bruyne is fourth. Lionel Messi wins the Ballon d"Or! The eighth occasion he has won! A ridiculous human. Here comes the winner for the main male award … David Beckham takes to the stage for the main male award. I always celebrate my anniversaries here in Paris with my wife and family. To be able to win their first title for over 19 years. I played my 100th game for my country here and I played my final game in football. It’s a very special place for me. Sir Bobby Charlton was respected for what he went through, for what he won. But he was even more respected off the pitch. He will be sorely missed. We always used to see him cheering us on from the stands. I went to Sir Bobby’s Soccer School when I was 10 years old. If it wasn’t for him, I would probably never have played for Manchester United. He was my dad’s hero. It’s one of the reasons that my middle name is Robert. On Peter Oh’s earlier email regarding a Fall On D’Floor nominee, Gregory Phillips has a nomination: It pains me as a Spurs fan, but Bissouma’s dive against Luton earlier this month made my skin crawl and has to be a strong contender. Here is the full breakdown of the top five for the Ballon d’Or Feminin: Sam Kerr of Chelsea and Australia is runner up. Salma Paralluelo of Barcelona and Spain is third. Bonmati speaks: This is a dream for me. I have really good players by my side. To reach three straight Champions League finals as a club is special. Let’s hope there’s much more to come. There’s also a question regarding Pep Guardiola comparing Bonmati to Iniesta. I’m not sure it’s helpful to compare female players to male, but Bonmati takes the question in her stride. I’ve always said I’m proud to have been born on the same day as Guardiola. To be compared to Iniesta is a privilege. I admire Xavi, Busquets, Messi. There’s also a very touching video, from Bonmati’s friends and family. All of them speak well, but this from her father is particularly pertinent. I only ask for this not to overwhelm you. Please keep enjoying football, because without that, none of this really makes sense. Amen to that. Football should be fun, first and foremost. Bonmati becomes the first player to win the World Cup Golden Ball, the Uefa Women’s Player of the Year, and the Women’s Ballon d’Or. A third straight trophy for Spain’s women, after Alexia Putellas won in 2021 and 2022. Aitana Bonmatí wins the Ballon d’Or Feminin! Never in doubt! We will have the Ballon d’Or Feminin winner first … Novak Djokovic is up on the stage and looks like he will present the main awards. He says that his two favourite teams are Red Star Belgrade and Milan, and that he’s looking forward to competing for the Olympic title next year in Paris. The men’s countdown continues. 7. Julian Alvarez, Manchester City and Argentina 6. Vinicius Jr, Real Madrid and Brazil. A brief interlude while we have some music. Rema performs his song, Calm Down. It’s a bit awkward, especially the bit where Rema shakes hands with the entire front row of players, but we just about get through it. Ace song though, tbf. The countdown continues for the main women’s award: 7. Alexandra Popp, Wolfsburg and Germany 6. Olga Carmona, Barcelona and Spain 5. Mary Earps, Manchester United and England Manchester City do indeed win the best male team of the year. They have seven nominees in the 30-strong shortlist, five in the top 10, and six here take to the stage: Rodri, Ederson, Ruben Dias, Bernardo Silva, Erling Haaland, Julian Alvarez. Bernardo Silva speaks: “We have so many nominees in both the men’s and women’s categories, it’s a sign that the club is doing something great.” It’s worth revisiting some of the Haaland stats from last season. A treble winner, he guided City to the Premier League, the FA Cup and the Champions League. In the Premier League he was a phenomenon. Scary numbers for his debut season in England. With a 36-goal haul in a scintillating debut campaign, Haaland set a record for the most goals scored in a single Premier League season, even beating totals that were achieved in a 42-match campaign. Adding eight assists to his 36 strikes, Haaland’s total of 44 goal involvements was a joint-record for a 38-match season, along with Thierry Henry, who produced 24 goals and 20 assists in 2002/03. Haaland became the first player in the Premier League to score hat-tricks in three successive home matches, and the first Man City player to score a Manchester derby hat-trick since 1970. Gary Lineker comes to the stag to present the Gerd Muller trophy, for the best male striker of the season, and is forced to relive the moment where he presented Match of the Day in his pants. Almost nobody laughs – everyone is trying very hard to be serious and sexy in Paris tonight. Oh, Erling Haaland wins the award. Obviously. Emiliano Martínez wins the Lev Yashin trophy! An amazing year with Aston Villa. But this really is all about his exploits with Argentina at the World Cup. Martínez is presented the award by his father, who was secretly lurking backstage for the surprise. A nice touch, although there is a button on Martínez Sr’s suit which is clinging on for dear life. Now time for the Lev Yashin trophy, for the world’s best male goalkeeper. Here are the five finalists. Yassine Bounou, Thibaut Courtois, Ederson, Emiliano Martínez, Marc-André ter Stegen. Barcelona are awarded the women’s team of the year. Treble winners, of course. About as big a shock as the men’s team of the year, which will surely be Manchester City. “Hearty congratulations all around,” emails Peter Oh, “but the awards that I would find really interesting are the Ballon D’OH! for the most egregious missed sitter, and the Fall On D’Floor for the most blatant dive.” Darwin Núñez? Casemiro? Submissions are welcome. The two trophies are currently making their way down the Seine by a police escort. The French are really eking this one out. The countdown to the top 10 for the female award has begun. 10. Rachel Daly of Aston Villa and England 9. Linda Caicedo of Real Madrid and Colombia 8. Patricia Guijarro of Barcelona and Spain. Vinicius Junior is given the ‘Socrates Award’ for his charity work in Brazil and sends a strong message against racism. There is also a presentation honouring three of the greats we have lost in his past year. Pelé Bobby Charlton Luis Suárez. Here is the full run-down for the Kopa list. The countdown begins for the main male award. 10. Luka Modric 9. Bernardo Silva 8. Victor Osimhen. “I can not take this seriously with that shortlist. How John Stones is not on that list,” emails Kirsty McNally. I agree. He should certainly be on the 30-man shortlist, and there’s an argument that he could even be in the top 10. Jude Bellingham wins the Kopa award! I want to thank everyone from Birmingham City, Borussia Dortmund and now Real Madrid. My friends and family, thank you so much. More to come. It’s been really welcomed by everyone in Madrid. It’s down to them. Wearing the No 5 [Zidane’s number] is a pressure that I want to invite onto myself. The most important thing, though, is team trophies. On his relationship with Musiala, who finished second in his award and was a former roommate with England youth level: He’s one of my best mates in football. Eden Hazard, now retired of course, is on stage to present the first award: the Kopa trophy for the best under-21 male player. Jude Bellingham, Jamal Musiala, Eduardo Camavinga, Gavi and Pedri are the five finalists. Linda Caicedo, surely a future Ballon d"Or winner, is the first of the nominees to take the stage alongside Vinicius Jr. They politely file on the stage in pairs, Haaland arriving with his former Dortmund teammate Bellingham Caicedo scored my favourite goal of the Women’s World Cup, every touch and every movement was like water and the finish was brutally accurate. It is one of the goals up for the Puskas award tonight. The ceremony is underway. Didier Drogba is our host and is busy welcoming some special guests, including – strangely – Novak Djokovic. OK, that’s quite enough sartorial info for one football liveblog. Lionel Messi is in the building. His fashion record at this event is mixed at best, but obviously has a decent stylist in Paris from his PSG days, and looks very smart indeed in a classic tux. His former teammate, Kylian Mbappé, is wearing a grey, double breasted number, which looks like exactly the same suit as worn by David Beckham, although the Englishman has chosen the navy version. Erling Haaland, not afraid of a few spicy threads, has just turned up in a shiny navy tux. He looks absolutely thrilled to be there. Thought this from a few days ago was good from Pep, who obviously has mixed allegiances with Lionel Messi and Erling Haaland. Very hard to see anyone other than Bonmati winning tonight. She won the league title in Spain, the Champions League and the World Cup, where she was voted the tournament’s best player. An incredible year. There are 30 nominees in the male category, and 11-30 have already been revealed. Real Madrid are next off the production line. Jude Bellingham keeps it simple with a classic black tux, wheras Vinicius Jr is wearing a striking crushed orange velvet number. Ilkay Gundogan, who made the shortlist this year for the first time in his career, also arrives with his male Barça teammates, Marc-Andre Ter Stegen and Alejandro Balde Gundogan speaks to the cameras. I’m a very happy man. The last few months have been great recently for my family. Finishing with the treble with Manchester City and now fulfilling a childhood dream to join Barça … it’s been a very good year. The footballers are arriving at the Paris venue tonight, the Théâtre du Châtelet, which sounds a bit like an A-list actor if you mumble the words, but in fact is a rather fancy opera house and arts space in the 1st arrondissement. Among them is the ‘Barcelona delegation’, which includes the favourite to win tonight, Aitana Bonmati, alongside numerous club and international teammates, most of which won the World Cup with Spain. Fridolina Rolfo, Salma Paralluelo, Mapi Leon are all there. Preamble Hello! Welcome to one of the most important events of the year, or a vanity fest that means nothing, depending on your disposition. The reality of what this really means is probably somewhere in between the two. Football is a team sport, and team trophies will always be thing that people remember. The Ballon d’Or is not the measure by which legacies are decided. That said, it’s not a bad thing to have on your CV. This being a World Cup year for both men’s and women’s football, it is not a shock to see the favourites for the two major awards come from Argentina men’s side and Spain’s women’s side. Lionel Messi is tipped to win his eighth trophy – no other male player has more than five – while Aitana Bonmati is in pole position to claim the Ballon d’Or Feminin. It would be a surprise to see someone else win tonight, but Erling Haaland and Olga Carmona have the best chance of causing a shock. The main ceremony begins at 7.45pm GMT, 8.45pm local time (in Paris). Here are the nominees in full for all four awards: Ballon d’Or nominees Josko Gvardiol (RB Leipzig and Manchester City) Andre Onana (Inter Milan and Manchester United) Karim Benzema (Real Madrid and Al-Ittihad) Mohamed Salah (Liverpool) Jamal Musiala (Bayern Munich) Bukayo Saka (Arsenal) Randal Kolo Muani (Eintracht Frankfurt and Paris Saint-Germain) Jude Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid) Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City) Bernardo Silva (Manchester City) Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (Napoli) Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa) Ruben Dias (Manchester City) Nicolo Barella (Inter Milan) Erling Haaland (Manchester City) Martin Odegaard (Arsenal) Ilkay Gundogan (Manchester City and Barcelona) Yassine Bounou (Sevilla and Al-Hilal) Julian Alvarez (Manchester City) Vinicius Jr (Real Madrid) Rodrigo (Manchester City) Lionel Messi (Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Miami) Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid) Lautaro Martinez (Inter Milan) Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona) Kim Min-jae (Napoli and Bayern Munich) Luka Modric (Real Madrid) Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-German) Victor Osimhen (Napoli) Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur and Bayern Munich) Ballon d’Or Feminin nominees Daphne Van Domselaar (Twente and Aston Villa) Lena Oberdorf (Vfl Wolfsburg) Hinata Miyazawa (MyNavi Sendai) Millie Bright (Chelsea) Salma Paralluelo (Barcelona) Sophia Smith (Portland Thorns) Hayley Raso (Manchester City and Real Madrid) Amanda Ilestedt (Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal) Georgia Stanway (Bayern Munich) Olga Carmona (Real Madrid) Fridolina Rolfo (Barcelona) Rachel Daly (Aston Villa) Alba Redondo (Levante) Lina Caicedo (Real Madrid) Kadidiatou Diani (Paris Saint-Germain and Olympique Lyonnais) Patricia Guijarro (Barcelona) Ewa Pajor (Vfl Wolfsburg) Guro Reiten (Chelsea) Sam Kerr (Chelsea) Debinha (North Carlina Courage and Kansas City Current) Aitana Bonmati (Barcelona) Alexandra Popp (Vfl Wolfsburg) Yui Hasegawa (Manchester City) Jill Roord (Vfl Wolfsburg and Manchester City) Katie McCabe (Arsenal) Wendie Renard (Olympique Lyonnais) Asisat Oshoala (Barcelona) Mary Earps (Manchester United) Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw (Manchester City) Mapi Leon (Barcelona) Yashin Trophy nominees Brice Samba (Lens) Dominik Livakovic (Dinamo Zagreb and Fenerbahce) Aaron Ramsdale (Arsenal) Andre Onana (Inter Milan and Manchester United) Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa) Ederson (Manchester City) Marc-Andre Ter Stegen (Barcelona) Mike Maignan (AC Milan) Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid) Yassine Bounou (Sevilla and Al-Hilal) Kopa Trophy nominees (for best men’s under-21 player) Xavi (RB Leipzig / PSV Eindhoven) Jamal Musiala (Bayern Munich) Jude Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund / Real Madrid) Alejandro Balde (Barcelona) Eduardo Camavinga (Real Madrid) Gavi (Barcelona) Rasmus Höjlund (Atalanta / Manchester United) Pedri (Barcelona) Antonio Silva (Benfica) Elye Wahi (HSC Montpellier / RC Lens)