Alexia Putellas Secures Third Ballon d'Or Crown

Spain midfielder Alexia Putellas has won the Ballon d'Or Feminin for a record-equalling third time, keeping the prize in Spanish hands for a sixth consecutive year. Putellas captained Barcelona to Champions League glory as part of a quadruple before joining Women's Super League side London City Lionesses in July. She joins Spain team-mate Aitana Bonmati on three crowns, after Bonmati won the award in 2023, 2024 and 2025 following Putellas in 2021 and 2022. The past six Ballons d'Or have been won by the Spanish pair, with Norway's Ada Hegerberg and United States player Megan Rapinoe the only non-Spaniards to claim the prize in recent years. Putellas collected the most votes from an international panel of journalists across Fifa's top-50 ranked countries, with Barcelona striker Ewa Pajor coming second and Manchester City forward Khadija Shaw third. Meanwhile, England captain Harry Kane won the men's Ballon d'Or, becoming the first English player to take the honor since Michael Owen in 2001.

Performance and Background

Putellas scored 21 goals and provided 13 assists in all competitions last season. Seven of those goals came in the Women's Champions League as Barcelona claimed a fourth continental title in six seasons. In Liga F, which Barcelona won for a seventh consecutive season, she finished joint-sixth for assists and fourth for open-play chances created. In all competitions, she created 89 chances and completed 965 passes ending in the final third, more than any other player across Liga F, the Champions League, Copa de la Reina and Supercopa de Espana. Nicknamed 'La Reina', Putellas overcame a career-threatening anterior cruciate ligament injury suffered in 2022 to return to the top of world football. She began playing football in the street, spent a year at Barcelona's La Masia academy, and spent time at Espanyol and Levante before returning to Barcelona in 2012 for a 14-year career where she won 38 trophies.

Context

The Ballon d'Or Feminin is awarded annually to recognize the best female football player in the world based on performance over the preceding season. Spain has emerged as a dominant force in international women's football in recent years, with Spanish players securing the prestigious individual award consecutively since 2018 alongside their major international and club tournament successes.