Harry Kane and Alexia Putellas win the 2026 Ballon d'Or awards

Harry Kane and Alexia Putellas won the 2026 Ballon d'Or titles in a notable night for global football. Kane became the first Englishman in 25 years to claim the men's trophy. Putellas secured the women's prize for the third time in her career.

Rankings and Results

In the men's voting, France player Kylian Mbappe finished second and Spanish forward Lamine Yamal took third place. Rodri placed fourth after his win in 2024. Lionel Messi came in fifth following his retirement from international football last month. Last year's winner Ousmane Dembele ended up seventh. For the women's award, Putellas stopped her Spanish teammate Aitana Bonmati from winning again, after Bonmati took the title for three years in a row. Ewa Pajor finished second in the women's list and Khadija Shaw came in third.

Context

The Ballon d'Or is an annual football award given by France Football to honor the best players in the world over the previous season. Winning the trophy marks a major career high for players across both the men's and women's professional games.