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The 22 Best Menswear Moments From the 2026 Ballon d’or

The 22 Best Menswear Moments From the 2026 Ballon d’or

Save this story Save Story Save this story The film industry has the Oscars. Fashion has the Met Gala. And soccer has the Ballon d’Or. Last night, soccer legends from every corner rocked up to the London Palladium to see who would be crowned the year’s best baller.

Would Harry Kane be the first Englishman since 2001 to take home the Ballon d’Or? Well, yes! “Wow, wow, wow. I’m almost speechless. Lucky I have this list,” Kane said at the start of his acceptance speech, coming to terms with being classed as the world's best soccer player this year. He was up against Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal , Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappé , and, of course, Lionel Messi of Inter Miami .

Naturally, we here at GQ aren’t only concerned with the soccer. We’re watching what’s happening on the red carpet, too. The attendees didn’t turn up with grass-stained cleats or their team’s jerseys on. Much like the Premier League’s PFA Awards , the dress code was pretty prim and proper. Over the years, we’ve seen Jude Bellingham in a double-breasted Louis Vuitton suit, Erling Haaland in navy Dolce & Gabbana, and Mbappé in Dior. There’s a lot of done-up top buttons, tucked in shirts and bow-ties—which makes for pretty good inspo for any upcoming formal events you have in circled the calendar.

Below, check out our picks for the best-dressed guys from the night.

Expand Karwai Tang 1/22 Harry Kane in Thom Sweeney Pointed lapels. Satin covered buttons. Polished shoes. Harry Kane pulls out a classic Thom Sweeney look for what would become his big night.

Expand Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images 2/22 Kylian Mbappé in Dior Sometimes, simple is best. Mbappé knows that. He turned up in a Dior velvet tux with a satin shawl lapel, plus a Hublot watch.

Expand FRANCK FIFE/Getty Images 3/22 Bukayo Saka in Wales Bonner Starboy may have skipped the red carpet, but we got a glimpse of his Wales Bonner suit when he accepted his win for the Socrates Trophy. The clean doubled-breasted fit and unique brooch make a look fit for a victor.

Expand Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images 4/22 Lamine Yamal in Chanel Breaking up the sea of black suits was a giant pink corsage pinned to Yamal's custom Chanel suit—making him one of many famous guys as of late to rock the historically womenswear-only label.

Expand Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images 5/22 Ousmane Dembélé in Zegna Black tie? Well, Dembélé went burgundy tie with this Zegna look.

Expand Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images 6/22 Mikel Arteta in Giorgio Armani, with Lorena Bernal The Arsenal manager prefers his Giorgio Armani suit fuss-free—just like how he wants his team to play on the pitch, too.

Expand Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images 7/22 Marc Cucurella in Giorgio Armani The Spanish defender kept his Louis Vuitton look nice and easy by sticking with an all-black vibe. Clean and classic.

Expand Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images 8/22 Luis Díaz, with Geraldine Ponce Díaz gave the lapels a night off with a boxy, collarless black jacket. Fortunately, a pair of big-ass trousers and a little bit of bling took care of the rest.

Expand Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images 9/22 Yan Diomandé in Dolce & Gabbana The stitching on the lapel. The gold brooch. The pleated trouser. The devil's in the details when it came to Diomandé's Dolce & Gabbana suit.

Expand Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images 10/22 Johan Manzambi in Saint Laurent The Aston Villa player swapped out a tie for a gold chain, which nicely matched the brooch pinned to his Saint Laurent suit.

Expand Jeff Spicer - UEFA/Getty Images 11/22 Ibrahim Maza Your first Ballon d'Or invite is a pretty good excuse to get properly dressed up, and Maza kept things nice and straightforward in a classic black tux.

Expand Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images 12/22 Unai Simon, right, in Dolce & Gabbana The Spanish goalkeeper collected his award in classic Dolce & Gabbana, and this photo op looks like a keeper that should be framed for the mantelpiece.

Expand Karwai Tang 13/22 Kerstin Casparij Casparij went big on the sleeves and cropped on the trousers—a very good argument for playing around with your suit's proportions.

Expand Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images 14/22 David Raya, with Tatiana Trouboul Raya's kept his suit lapels just like his arms when he's in goal: way out wide.

A version of this story originally appeared in British GQ .

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