Alexia Putellas and Harry Kane Win the 2026 Ballon d'Or

The 70th annual Ballon d'Or ceremony took place at the London Palladium in England on Monday, October 26, 2026. Organized by France Football, the event brought together football stars and supporters to honor the best players in both men's and women's professional football for the season.

Spain midfielder Alexia Putellas won the Women's Ballon d'Or for the third time in her career. Now playing for the London City Lionesses after a successful tenure with FC Barcelona, Putellas previously claimed the prestigious individual trophy in 2021 and 2022. During the previous campaign, she helped Barcelona secure a quadruple by winning the league, cup, supercup, and the Champions League, recording 26 goals and 15 assists across 53 appearances.

Reflecting on her latest achievement during a broadcast, Putellas expressed deep gratitude toward her former teammates. "I want to start by thanking my teammates," she said. She added, "It has been a great pleasure to play side by side with each of you. Incredible experiences as a team. We overcame certain difficulties, some injuries, and some situations that we hadn't expected as -- and it is a great pride for me as captain."

With this third victory, Putellas ties her former Barcelona colleague Aitana Bonmatí for the most crowns in the history of the women's award, as Bonmatí had won the trophy over the preceding three years. Putellas previously accepted her 2022 award while on crutches recovering from a cruciate ligament injury.

In the men's category, Harry Kane of Bayern Munich and the England national team captured his first-ever Ballon d'Or. Kane became the first English player to claim the men's top individual prize since Michael Owen won it in 2001. The striker enjoyed a prolific season, scoring 73 goals in 65 games to lead Bayern Munich to victory in the Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal, and the German Supercup, alongside his performances for the English national team.

The gala evening featured a sweep of awards for FC Barcelona's women's program. Aside from Putellas's win, Barcelona was named the women's club of the year, Pere Romeu received the award for best coach of a women's team, Catalina Coll won the women's Yashin Trophy for best goalkeeper, and Vicky Lopez earned the Kopa Trophy as the best young female player.

Other notable winners at the London ceremony included Lamine Yamal of FC Barcelona, who secured the men's Kopa Trophy, and Unai Simón of Athletic Bilbao, who won the men's Yashin Trophy. Spain's Luis de la Fuente was named the best coach of a men's team, while Paris Saint-Germain was honored as the men's club of the year. Bukayo Saka of Arsenal received the Socrates Prize, and Harry Kane also collected the men's Gerd Müller Trophy as the top goalscorer.