Ballon d’Or 2026: Full list of winners, men’s and women’s rankings led by Harry Kane and Alexia Putellas

ByTech Word News

Soccer Soccer – Ballon d’Or – London Palladium, London, Britain – October 26, 2026 Alexia Putellas of London City Lionesses poses with Harry Kane of Bayern Munich after winning the Ballon d’Or awards The 70th edition of the Ballon d’Or ceremony brought the pinnacle of footballing excellence to London’s historic Palladium Theatre. Held in honor of Sir Stanley Matthews: the legendary inaugural winner of the trophy in 1956, the gala was the first ever presentation of the prestigious awards on English soil. In the end, the night belonged to Harry Kane and Alexia Putellas, who claimed the top individual crowns in a night full of record-breaking milestones, dominant displays of Spanish football and historic upsets.

Harry Kane bridges a quarter-century gap in English football

Harry Kane won his first men’s Ballon d’Or, beating Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappé and Barcelona wonderkid Lamine Yamal after a spectacular season for club and country.Kane’s triumph makes him the first Englishman in 25 years to win the men’s Ballon d’Or, following Michael Owen, who last lifted the trophy in 2001. In winning football’s highest individual award, Kane joins an elite pantheon of England icons that include Sir Stanley Matthews, Sir Bobby Charlton and Kevin Keegan. Further down the list, Lionel Messi finished fifth in what is widely believed to be his final career nomination following his international retirement announcement.

Men’s Ballon d’Or: Top 10 rankings

  1. Harry Kane: Bayern Munich / England
  2. Kylian Mbappé: Real Madrid / France
  3. Lamine Yamal: Barcelona / Spain
  4. Rodri : Barcelona / Spain
  5. Lionel Messi: Inter Miami / Argentina
  6. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia : Paris Saint-Germain / Georgia
  7. Ousmane Dembélé: Paris Saint-Germain / France
  8. Erling Haaland: Manchester City / Norway
  9. Michael Olise : Bayern Munich / France
  10. Fabián Ruiz: Paris Saint-Germain / Spain

Alexia Putellas reclaims her throne with a record third title

In the women’s category, the global crown was officially won by Alexia Putellas, who returned to the absolute pinnacle of the women’s game ahead of her Barcelona team-mate Ewa Pajor and Manchester City’s Khadija Shaw.With the victory, Putellas captured a record-equalling third Ballon d’Or Féminine (adding to wins in 2021 and 2022), equaling her Spanish teammate Aitana Bonmatí for the most titles in the history of the women’s award. Crucially, while she spent the main term dominating with FC Barcelona, ​​her summer move makes her the first ever winner technically affiliated with the Women’s Super League (WSL) representing the London City Lionsses.

Women’s Ballon d’Or: Top 10 rankings

  1. Alexia Putellas: London City Lioness / Spain
  2. Ewa Pajor: Barcelona / Poland
  3. Khadija Shaw: Manchester City / Jamaica
  4. Melchie Dumornay: OL Lyonnes / Haiti
  5. Patri Guijarro: Barcelona / Spain
  6. Caroline Graham Hansen: Barcelona / Norway
  7. Pernille Harder: Bayern Munich / Denmark
  8. Claudia Pina: Barcelona / Spain
  9. Alessia Russo: Arsenal / England
  10. Temwa Chawinga: Kansas City Current / Malawi

Barcelona’s La Masia Academy tightens its grip on youth

The youth categories showcased an unrivaled production of talent from Barcelona’s La Masia, with the club securing both the men’s and women’s under-21 honours.

  • Lamine Yamal (Men’s Young Player of the Year): Yamal made unprecedented football history by retaining the Kopa Trophy and winning it for the third time in a row (2024, 2025 and 2026). Since the France Football award was established in 2018, no other player has won it more than once.

  • Vicky López (Women’s Young Player of the Year): López continued her complete dominance of the club on the youth circuit, retaining her crown to secure her second consecutive young women’s award.

Major category winners and historical milestones

The secondary awards highlighted historic tactical triumphs, unrivaled club dominance and remarkable humanitarian efforts around the world.

  • Male Striker of the Year (Gerd Müller Trophy) – Harry Kane (Bayern Munich / England): Kane completed a double-trophy night by securing the best striker award. It is the second time Kane has won the Gerd Müller Trophy, having already shared the honor in 2024.
  • Women’s Striker of the Year (Gerd Müller Trophy) – Charlyn Corral (CF Pachuca / Mexico): With the historic Liga MX Femenil victory, Corral became the first player playing outside of Europe’s top divisions to earn this global goal scoring metric.
  • Men’s Goalkeeper of the Year (Yashin Trophy) – Unai Simón (Athletic Club / Spain): Simón won the best goalkeeper award mainly for his spectacular penalty shootout heroics and stellar defensive leadership that led Spain to the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
  • Best goalkeeper of the year – Cata Coll (Barcelona / Spain): Coll has anchored Barcelona Femení’s defensive wall during their relentless pursuit of the continental trophy, keeping a record number of clean sheets.
  • Men’s Coach of the Year – Luis de la Fuente (Spain): De la Fuente smoothly secured the honor after leading La Roja to a flawless and unbeaten World Cup campaign.
  • Women’s Coach of the Year – Pere Romeu (Barcelona): Romeu was credited for flawlessly maintaining Barcelona’s modern tactical superiority level in his debut seasons.
  • Men’s Club of the Year – Paris Saint-Germain: PSG made history as the first team to win back-to-back Men’s Club of the Year awards, fueled by an incredible haul of five trophies, a deep squad and domestic dominance.
  • Women’s Club of the Year – Barcelona Femení: The Catalan giants have earned undisputed status after capturing ruthless domestic and continental clean sheets.
  • Socrates Award – Buyo Saka (Arsenal / England): Saka was recognized for his global humanitarian work, specifically partnering with charity BigShoe to fund vital medical aid and 120 life-changing surgeries for children in Nigeria.