I partied with Rodri & Man Utd’s Alejandro Garnacho at Ballon D’or – Harry Kane let slip plans for Prem League return
IT was a glitzy night with football’s biggest stars – and I was one of the lucky few invited to attend.
More than 500 bottles of Champagne were cracked open before the creme de la creme watched Manchester City’s Rodri and Barcelona’s Aitana Bonmati receive the Ballon d’Or.
But the caterers scored an own goal when they ran out of platters to serve their nibbles — forcing the chefs to send out waiters holding metal colanders full of macaroni cheese balls.
That flash of chaos did not affect the presentation of the only two balls that really mattered — the rotund golden trophies that were carefully wheeled on to the stage in Paris.
There was even more fanfare to the moment than I’ve seen at the Oscars and the Baftas.
The gongs came in custom-made Louis Vuitton cases, which each took three people to open, while fireworks threatened to set off the fire alarm as the crowd watched in bewilderment.
Some hours before then, my evening began by navigating four road closures and more than 200 confused French coppers to get to the Theatre du Chatelet in the French capital on a windy Monday night.
Rabid selfie-takers
Once inside, I stood shoulder-to-shoulder with football heavyweights including French legend Marcel Desailly and Barcelona president Joan Laporta — who was flanked by heavies to bat off rabid selfie-takers, myself included.
My first port of call was tracking down Harry Kane, the former captain of my beloved Tottenham Hotspur, who on the night picked up the Gerd Muller trophy with Kylian Mbappe as they had both scored the most goals in Europe this season.
Grabbing Harry for a chat before he was celebrated for his 44 goals in 45 matches, he admitted he was loving his new life at Bayern Munich.
“I’m really enjoying it,” Harry told me with a grin on his face, although he went on to admit his German could still do with a bit of work.
“I am learning and doing two lessons a week,” he added. “I have a good teacher at Bayern.
“For me it is difficult but hopefully I will be there for many years and at some stage will be able to talk a bit of German.”
But what about coming back to Spurs I plead, given we desperately miss our golden boy.
“Maybe one day,” Harry tells me with a somewhat sympathetic smile. Although I suspect, deep down, I may be left wanting.
The reception waiters are bringing out posh canapes in great haste but I spy Marcel Desailly waving away cubes of raw cod — which, given they were room temperature, was a wise decision.
After I introduced myself, the Chelsea legend gossiped about Real Madrid’s decision to snub the big night after learning star forward Vinicius Junior would not be awarded the top prize.
Insiders at the glitzy bash told me the club’s decision to not send a single delegate caused a big headache and a hurried last-minute switch to the seating plan on the theatre floor.
Elsewhere in the bash, Manchester United’s Alejandro Garnacho was tucked away in a corner of the champagne reception furiously tapping away on his mobile phone as his glamorous female companion stared blankly into space.
I am learning and doing two lessons a week
Harry Kane
It wasn’t surprising the striker only had eyes for his iPhone, given just six hours before he arrived his gaffer Erik ten Hag was handed his P45.
I chose to not mention the chaos when I started up a conversation but it was clear Garnacho was so deep in the club WhatsApp group gossip that time for a chinwag with me was not on the cards.
He sat with schoolboy-like stoicism on the front row next to Harry as the awards began.
By this point, more than 500 bottles of Taittinger had been cracked open and the players, Uefa bigwigs and everyone in between were certainly well-oiled.
As the players started to take their seats I went down on to the floor and spotted Barcelona’s teenage wonderkid Lamine Yamal — who won the best young player trophy at the ceremony — carrying his toddler brother Keyne around to meet his peers.
The tot won hearts when Lamine carried him out on to the pitch after Spain won the Euros this summer and he was the centre of attention at the ceremony.
As Keyne was passed from player to player, Lamine looked on proudly as they cooed over him.
And later that evening, at just past 11pm, he was among the last to leave as proud Lamine carried the tuxedo-wearing tot down the red-carpeted stars and off to bed. Spanish footballer Jennifer Hermoso got the first standing ovation of the night as she won the Socrates award.
Jennifer — the woman at the centre of the storm last July when she was kissed without consent by Fifa’s ex- vice-president Luis Rubiales — was the first woman to be handed the gong and used her time on stage to push for equality.
‘Make a better world’
She said: “This award is not just mine, but belongs to all my teammates, with whom I share a space where equality is not always a given.
“That’s why we all work day by day with the hope and desire to leave women’s football in a better place for the new generations.”
She added: “I’d like to tell all women to keep being courageous. Work together in order to make a better world possible.”
Two hours in, and the ceremony came to a close with the unveiling of the top award, the Ballon d’Or.
Barcelona’s Aitana won the women’s gong for a second year in a row and was handed the accolade by Hollywood actress Natalie Portman.
The Black Swan star, who part-owns LA-based football team Angel City FC, told me she was a regular at Paris Saint-Germain games with her teenage son — who worked the theatre floor like a pro and took selfies with everyone from Harry to Rodri.
I’d like to tell all women to keep being courageous
Jennifer Hermoso
Collecting her prize, Aitana paid tribute to her teammates Caroline Graham Hansen and Salma Paralluelo who were left in second and third place respectively.
The pair did not seem too impressed with her sentiments, though, and struggled to raise a smile as Aitana spoke about them.
Afterwards, when the Champagne started to flow again, they made a beeline for the dessert table and I stood and watched as they despondently ate miniature cream cakes and poached pears as Aitana swerved the after-party.
Man City’s Rodri, who picked up the men’s Ballon d’Or, was helped on stage by former Manchester City player George Weah in the closing segment of the evening.
The midfielder is on crutches after undergoing surgery following a nasty injury last month, but refused to pose with his sticks and handed them to a flunky as he stood on stage clutching his prize.
“I am feeling much better,” he reassured the crowd. “This is a big injury for me. Football has a lot of risks and this is the first time in my career to have something like this.
“I am trying to rest and recuperate and come back stronger.”
He was joined by his parents, who were seated towards the back — and when I saw him leaving the theatre, his mother had to fight through a crowd of 20 heavies to reach her boy to give him a kiss.
It just goes to show, you are never too old, or too successful, to get a smacker from Mum.
Back inside the bash, there was uproar at the decision to shut the bar at 11pm — two hours before the official closing time.
With all the stars gone, though, and the warm, raw cod starting to repeat on the most prestigious of guests, it was best to call it a night.
Until next year, Paris.