Putellas wins third Women’s Ballon d’Or
By Pius Ayinor
Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane has won the 2026 men’s Ballon d’Or. He claimed the football’s most prestigious individual award at the ceremony in London on Monday.
The England captain becomes the first Englishman to win the award since Michael Owen in 2001.
Kane’s victory comes after a prolific season for Bayern Munich, during which his goalscoring performance.
In the ladies category, Spanish midfielder Alexia Putellas won the 2026 Women’s Ballon d’Or. She is grabbing the award for the third time.
The London City Lionesses star previously won the prestigious individual prize in 2021 and 2022, becoming a three-time winner of the award.
Putellas ended Aitana Bonmatí’s three-year run as winner of the award. Bonmatí won the Women’s Ballon d’Or in 2023, 2024 and 2025 but was not nominated for this year’s prize.
Putellas captained Barcelona during the 2025/26 season before joining London City Lionesses in the summer. She helped the Spanish club win four trophies, including the Women’s Champions League, Liga F, the Spanish Super Cup and the Copa de la Reina.
The 32-year-old also helped Spain win the Women’s Nations League.
The 2026 ceremony, held at the London Palladium, marks the 70th edition of the Ballon d’Or awards.
The biggest night in world soccer was delayed 45 minutes due to traffic and congestion getting into the London Palladium, but once the 70th edition of the ceremony began, it delivered plenty to talk about. All eyes were on a wide-open race for the men’s award, where Harry Kane held off stiff competition from Lamine Yamal and Kylian Mbappé to take soccer’s most prestigious individual honor. And many more highlights followed through the night.
Photo: Harry Kane
