When and where is the 2021 Ballon d'Or ceremony?

The Ballon d'Or returns after taking a year out. The 2020 edition of the prestigious award was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic. Leo Messi was the last player to lift the trophy - the sixth of his career. He shared the podium with Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk and Cristiano Ronaldo in December 2019 - just weeks before football, and the world, was put on hold. 

Since it was founded in 1956 by France Football, there have been 64 editions of the Ballon d'Or, including the six years when it was awarded in conjunction with the FIFA World Player of the Year award. The original format returned in 2016 and to it's home city, Paris. 

The 2021 Ballon d'Or will held on the evening of Monday 29 November 2021 at the resplendent Théâtre du Châtelet, on the banks of the River Seine in the French capital. The theatre, inaugurated in 1862, held the 2019 ceremony and was rennovated a couple of years ago. 

In addition to the Men's Ballon d'Or, other awards will be presented in Paris on Monday night, including the Women's Ballon d'Or, the Trophée Kopa and the Yachine Trophée, a recently created award, named in honor of the great Lev Yashin, the only goalkeeper to have won the standard Ballon d'Or.

2021 Men's Ballon d'Or  nominees

Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint-Germain), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus), César Azpilicueta (Chelsea), Rúben Días (Manchester City), Nicolò Barella (Inter Milan), Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City), Jorginho (Chelsea), Luka Modric (Real Madrid), Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United), Phil Foden (Manchester City), Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United), Erling Haaland (Borussia Dortmund), Harry Kane (Tottenham), N’Golo Kanté (Chelsea), Simon Kjaer (AC Milan), Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich), Romelu Lukaku (Chelsea), Riyad Mahrez (Manchester City), Lautaro Martinez (Inter Milan), Karim Benzema (Real Madrid), Kylian Mbappé (Paris Saint-Germain), Lionel Messi (Paris Saint-Germain), Gerard Moreno (Villarreal), Mason Mount (Chelsea), Neymar (Paris Saint-Germain), Pedri (Barcelona), Mohamed Salah (Liverpool), Raheem Sterling (Manchester City), Luis Suárez (Atlético Madrid).

2021 Women's Ballon d'Or nominees

Kadidiatou Diani (Paris Saint-Germain), Fran Kirby (Chelsea), Jennifer Hermoso (Barcelona) Christiane Endler (Olympique Lyon), Christine Sinclair (Thorns FC), Ashley Lawrence (Paris Saint-Germain), Irene Paredes (Paris Saint-Germain, Barcelona), Jessie Fleming (Chelsea), Lieke Martens (Barcelona), Sandra Paños (Barcelona), Vivianne Miedema (Arsenal), Ellen White (Manchester City), Pernille Harder (Chelsea), Sam Mewis (North Carolina Courage), Wendie Renard (Olympique Lyon), Marie-Antoinette Katoto (Paris Saint-Germain), Stina Blackstenius (Hacken), Magdalena Eriksson (Chelsea), Sam Kerr (Chelsea), Alexia Putellas (Barcelona).