Ballon d'Or Returns to England, and the British Question Comes Back With It

The Ballon d'Or is back in England, with the ceremony held in London in a nod to Stanley Matthews, the first player to win the award in 1956. Coverage of the evening is running live, alongside a separate question about whether the women's power rankings will produce a new winner.

The night has also turned attention to Britain's record in the award. Denis Law (1964), Bobby Charlton (1966) and George Best (1968) all won it, and in 1968 all three were in the same Manchester United side. Kevin Keegan, who won in 1978 and 1979, has died, according to the live feed, which leaves Michael Owen, the 2001 winner, as the only surviving British recipient. DAZN interviewed Owen during the broadcast.

Not everyone is convinced that Owen's win reflects the peak of his career. The commentary acknowledges his big-game performances, especially in Rome and Cardiff, but questions whether he was the best player in the world that year.

The wider point is the strength of English attacking talent. Apart from Erling Haaland and Bruno Fernandes, the commentary argues, the best attackers in Europe are now mostly found in La Liga and Ligue 1 rather than the Premier League, despite its spending power. That is unlikely to change soon, the piece suggests, unless English clubs develop their own elite players.