One of the biggest nights in world football was delayed by nearly an hour because of traffic in London. The London Palladium was chosen to host the ceremony to mark the 70th anniversary of the award’s inaugural winner, England’s Stanley Matthews, in 1956. The venue also proved fitting as local favourite Harry Kane took home the most coveted prize of the night.
Kane became the fifth English footballer to win the men’s Ballon d’Or and the first in 25 years, beating stiff competition from Lamine Yamal and Kylian Mbappe.
On the women’s side, Alexia Putellas claimed her third career Ballon d’Or Feminin title, finishing ahead of Ewa Pajor and Melchie Dumornay. Putellas had previously won the award in consecutive years, in 2021 and 2022, before Aitana Bonmati took over with three successive wins. Putellas’s latest triumph also extended Spain’s run to six consecutive years with a Spanish winner.
Spain’s dominance extended beyond the two marquee awards and emerged as one of the major talking points of Monday night’s ceremony. Luis de la Fuente, who guided Spain to the 2026 World Cup title earlier in the summer, won the men’s coach of the year award, while Barcelona Femeni’s Pere Romeu was named women’s coach of the year.
Yamal may have missed out on the Ballon d’Or, finishing third in the voting, but he claimed his third consecutive men’s young player of the year award. Barcelona’s Vicky Lopez, meanwhile, secured her second straight women’s young player of the year title.
Unai Simon and Cata Coll were named men’s and women’s goalkeepers of the year, respectively, in recognition of their performances for Spain and Barcelona Femeni.
Spanish players and clubs accounted for eight of the 13 awards presented, with Barcelona winning the women’s club of the year honour. The Catalan club enjoyed a trophy-laden 2025-26 season, sweeping all four major competitions: Liga F, the Copa de la Reina, the Spanish Super Cup and the UEFA Women’s Champions League.
Full list of award winners
Ballon d’Or: Harry Kane (Bayern Munich/England)
Ballon d’Or Feminin: Alexia Putellas (Barcelona/London City Lionesses/Spain)
Men’s striker of the year: Harry Kane (Bayern Munich/England)
Women’s striker of the year: Charlyn Corral (CF Pachuca/Mexico)
Men’s club of the year: Paris Saint-Germain
Women’s club of the year: Barcelona
Socrates Award: Bukayo Saka (Arsenal/England)
Men’s goalkeeper of the year: Unai Simon (Athletic Club/Spain)
Women’s goalkeeper of the year: Cata Coll (Barcelona/Spain)
Men’s coach of the year: Luis de la Fuente (Spain)
Women’s coach of the year: Pere Romeu (Barcelona)
Women’s young player of the year: Vicky Lopez (Barcelona/Spain)
Men’s young player of the year: Lamine Yamal (Barcelona/Spain)
