Ballon d’Or 2026: updates from 70th edition in London – live

8.23pm GMT

Just realised my wife will be home in a couple of hours; yup, I’ve got to bite the bullet, sin against my soul, and put the heating back on.

8.20pm GMT

What Kane said about how his teammates talk about him – what a feeling that must be. During the World Cup, it was moving to hear the England players discuss his dedication, seriousness and intensity in every single training session, and their desire to learn from him; no one has done more to maximise their talent.

8.17pm GMT

Kane says he’s a bit nervous as unlike a match it’s out of his control. He’s hoping it goes his way, and has seen some friends and family. Told there’s not much more he could’ve done, he says there’s always more, and had he converted one of the Champions League and World Cup semis to silverware, he’d have taken it for sure. He backs himself as a finisher and as a creator, so with fast players around him and the way Bayern play, he’s able to drop deeper while still scoring the goals. He loves the way his teammates talk about him and hopes he wins tonight.

8.12pm GMT

“I like to ask who would you pay the most to watch, rather than who is the best,” emails Fin, a bit of a follow-on from the email Josh sent regards Ronaldinho. Out of the current players my top three would be Yamal, Kvaratskhelia and Olise.”

They are probably our foremost artists, though I also love Pedri for that. As it goes, Dembélé was once in that category, then became a more serious accumulator.

8.10pm GMT

Ooooh yeah, Ousmane Dembélé takes the lead in the rig-out stakes, so cool he makes sunglasses indoors look banging. Again, photo to follow.

8.05pm GMT

Harry Kane arrives, hair McDonald’s arching as it does. In an amazing turn-up for the books, his suit isn’t a slick as Mbappé’s or even close to it – photo to follow.

8.02pm GMT

“Joining a long line of people who say this popularity contest, leaked to you by Fabrizio, is dead to them after an injustice,” laments Jakob Mathiszig-Lee. “Nedved over Henry in 03 for me, but there’s plenty of others, Sneijder in 10 and Lewandowski in 20 and 21.”

I agree, those Messi/Ronaldo years were suboptimal. Essentially, Nedved got it for one performance, Juve v Real Madrid in the Champions League – though I actually think Ruud van Nistelrooy would’ve won the domestic awards were the voting done later in the season.

7.58pm GMT

Mbappe is in the house, looking pretty suave. Eddie Howe and Jason Tindall are surely due shortly.

7.57pm GMT

“How many of these candidates actually make you smile for the quality of their football and skills?” wonders Josh Goldblatt. “Maybe Lamine, but the last entertainer surely was Ronaldinho, 2005 winner.”