Ballon d’Or 2026 Winners: Kane, Putellas & Full Rankings

Harry Kane won the men’s Ballon d’Or 2026, while Alexia Putellas won the women’s award for the third time. The ceremony took place on Monday, October 26, at the London Palladium in England, marking 70 years since the award began.

Those are the headline results, but they are not the whole story. Kane collected two prizes, Putellas returned to the top of the women’s rankings, and the supporting awards recognized young players, goalkeepers, coaches, clubs, goalscorers, and humanitarian work.

Below, find both complete 30-player rankings, every award winner, official ceremony highlights and victory speeches, and a clear explanation of how the voting works. The rankings are results, not predictions.

Facts checked October 29, 2026. Results follow official Ballon d’Or lists and UEFA reporting. Archive photographs are clearly labeled and do not depict the 2026 ceremony.

Ballon d’Or 2026 results at a glance

UEFA’s official ceremony announcement and winners list confirms the headline awards and all the additional categories.

Jump to: Kane’s win · Putellas’s win · Men’s full ranking · Women’s full ranking · All awards · Official videos · Voting explained.

Harry Kane wins his first men’s Ballon d’Or

Kane finished ahead of Kylian Mbappé and Lamine Yamal to become the first English winner since Michael Owen in 2001. He also received Men’s Striker of the Year, giving him two different distinctions on the same evening.

UEFA’s report on Kane’s win credits him with 73 goals for club and country across all competitions in the 2025/26 campaign. That number is not a Bayern-only total or a Bundesliga-only total. Keeping the scope clear matters when comparing it with other players’ records.

His club season included a domestic treble with Bayern Munich and a third consecutive Bundesliga top-scorer finish. He also scored 14 Champions League goals as Bayern reached the semifinals.

Our reading: the interesting part is not simply that a striker scored heavily. Kane combined sustained output with achievements across different competitions. The result illustrates why a season-long award cannot be reduced to one spectacular goal or one memorable match. It does not mean every voter applied an identical formula.

Why winning two awards does not make them the same prize

Men’s Striker of the Year and the men’s Ballon d’Or are separate awards. A goalscoring prize identifies a particular kind of achievement; the main player award asks a broader question about overall performance. Kane winning both does not make one an automatic route to the other.

Alexia Putellas wins her third women’s Ballon d’Or

Putellas finished ahead of Ewa Pajor and Khadija Shaw, adding the 2026 honor to her wins in 2021 and 2022. Her third award places her level with Aitana Bonmatí, who won in 2023, 2024, and 2025, at the top of the women’s winners list through this ceremony.

UEFA’s report on Putellas’s win highlights her 2025/26 Women’s Champions League Player of the Season honor after she contributed seven goals and seven assists to Barcelona’s winning European campaign. Those are Champions League figures, not her full-season totals across all competitions.

She was also Player of the Finals as Spain won the 2025 Women’s Nations League. UEFA reports that she moved to London City Lionesses before the 2026/27 season. That explains why the official awards coverage lists Barcelona/London City Lionesses: the club label spans a move, rather than describing two simultaneous teams.

Our reading: her win offers a useful counterpoint to treating an individual award as a finishing contest. A midfielder can influence how a team creates chances, keeps possession, and controls difficult periods. Goals and assists help tell the story, but the role involves more than the final action.

Barcelona’s wider contribution to the women’s awards

Barcelona received Women’s Club of the Year, while Pere Romeu was named Women’s Coach of the Year. Vicky López won Women’s Young Talent of the Year and Cata Coll won Women’s Goalkeeper of the Year. Those results make the evening a story about a wider football environment, not only one star.

At the same time, a club award and an individual ranking measure different things. Readers should not assume that playing for the winning club determines a player’s place on the list.

Men’s Ballon d’Or 2026: the full ranking

The following list follows the official men’s 2026 ranking. All 30 players are included. Sadio Mané and William Saliba share 29th place; there is no separate 30th-place entry on the published list.

Mbappé in second and Yamal in third complete the men’s podium. The positions establish the voting order, but the table should not be read as a measured percentage difference in ability. A ranking and a scouting assessment are not interchangeable.

Women’s Ballon d’Or 2026: the full ranking

The following list follows the official women’s 2026 ranking. All 30 players are included. Lorena, Melvine Malard, and Vivianne Miedema share 28th place, so the final three entries should not be renumbered 28, 29, and 30.

Pajor’s second place and Shaw’s third place deserve attention alongside the winner. The top ten also includes players from clubs in Europe and the United States. Read each position in the context of the player’s role and season, rather than assuming that a familiar name or one league tells the entire story.

Every Ballon d’Or 2026 award winner

The main men’s and women’s prizes were part of a larger program. Here is the full set of award winners confirmed by UEFA, using its 2026 category names rather than assuming every trophy retains an older label.

The Sócrates Award recognizes solidarity initiatives and societal causes. Bukayo Saka’s award belongs in that context; it is not another position in the men’s player ranking.

Official ceremony highlights and victory speeches

Watch the three official France Football videos below: a ceremony recap and a victory speech from each main winner. They were linked from the official Ballon d’Or website when checked. These are highlights and speeches, not a promise of a complete, uninterrupted ceremony replay.

The players are embedded from the original provider, not downloaded or re-uploaded. Availability, advertisements, consent requirements, and regional restrictions can change. If an embed does not work, use its direct watch link.

Ballon d’Or 2026 ceremony highlights

Harry Kane’s official victory speech

Alexia Putellas’s official victory speech

For a more useful viewing experience, watch the two speeches alongside one another. Notice how the winners describe the people and teams around them. This is a viewing suggestion, not an invented quotation or a claim that either speech proves how the jury voted.

How is the Ballon d’Or winner selected?

The main Ballon d’Or awards are decided by specialist journalists, not a public popularity poll. The official 2026 voting explanation sets out the electorate, shortlist, scoring system, and tie-breaking process.

Who votes?

There is one journalist representative per eligible country: the top 100 countries in the FIFA rankings for the men’s award and the top 50 for the women’s award. For 2026, the relevant FIFA ranking was the one in effect when the nominee lists were published on September 8.

Each juror chooses ten players from a 30-player shortlist and places those selections in descending order of merit. This is different from selecting just a single winner.

How are the points counted?

A juror’s first choice receives 15 points, followed by 12, 10, 8, 7, 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1 for the remaining nine selections. The player with the highest total wins.

If totals are tied, first-place votes are compared, then second-place votes, then subsequent positions as necessary. This article reproduces the official ranking order, including its shared positions; it does not invent vote totals or a winning margin.

What are voters assessing?

UEFA’s published explanation of the award framework groups the criteria into individual performance, team performance and achievements, and class and fair play. That background explainer dates from 2024; the 2026 source above is used here for this edition’s jury and scoring details.

The distinction is important: the main award is not simply a lifetime-achievement vote, a social-media contest, or an automatic reward for the highest goals total. Nor should the main award’s ballot be assumed to govern every supporting category.

Which season does the coverage discuss?

The winners’ official reports assess their 2025/26 achievements. Those season descriptions should not be confused with the ceremony date in October or a player’s current club after a summer move. We have not added an exact 2026 eligibility cutoff because it was not specified in the 2026 voting explainer checked for this guide.

Why the London ceremony mattered

The Ballon d’Or began in 1956 with England’s Stanley Matthews as its first winner. The 2026 ceremony’s move to London paid tribute to that connection on the award’s 70th anniversary. The awards have been co-organized by France Football and UEFA since 2024.

The women’s Ballon d’Or was introduced in 2018. Its history is shorter, so comparing raw win totals across the men’s and women’s awards without that context is misleading.

Through the 2026 results, Lionel Messi leads the men’s winners list with eight awards, followed by Cristiano Ronaldo with five. In the women’s award, Putellas and Bonmatí have three each. These are counts of separate award histories, not a cross-competition ranking.

UEFA’s year-by-year Ballon d’Or winners history provides the underlying record. It also marks 2020 as canceled, a reminder that 70 years since the first presentation is not the same as 70 completed annual editions.

What young players can learn without chasing a trophy

An awards night can inspire beginners, but an elite player’s season is not a sensible training target for a child or a newcomer. A more useful approach is to identify one observable skill, practice it safely at a suitable level, and connect it to a game situation.

• Watch the receive before the highlight. A controlled first touch can create the time for a pass or shot. Our first-touch lesson explains the beginner version.
• Notice the next decision. A midfielder’s value can include helping a teammate, not only providing the final assist. Use the passing lesson to connect technique with useful support.
• Separate finishing from power. Placement, preparation, balance, and the decision to shoot all matter. The shooting lesson offers an accessible starting point.
• Look away from the ball sometimes. Watch how teammates create space. The positioning and tactics lesson helps explain those less obvious contributions.

The goal is understanding and enjoyment, not copying a professional workload or promising an award. Kane’s and Putellas’s results are a reason to watch carefully, not a guarantee that a particular drill produces elite success.

Ballon d’Or 2026: frequently asked questions

Who won the Ballon d’Or in 2026?

Harry Kane won the men’s award. Alexia Putellas won the women’s award, her third after 2021 and 2022.

Where and when was the 2026 ceremony?

It was held at the London Palladium in London, England, on Monday, October 26, 2026.

Who finished second and third?

Kylian Mbappé and Lamine Yamal were second and third in the men’s ranking. Ewa Pajor and Khadija Shaw were second and third in the women’s ranking.

Did Harry Kane win more than one award?

Yes. He won the men’s Ballon d’Or and Men’s Striker of the Year. They are separate categories.

Are the Ballon d’Or winners chosen by fans?

The main awards use an international jury of specialist journalists. Public fan polls on a website should not be confused with that official vote.

Why are some positions shared in the full rankings?

The official lists show two players at 29th in the men’s ranking and three players at 28th in the women’s ranking. This guide preserves those published positions instead of forcing a unique number onto every player.

Where can I watch the winners’ speeches?

The official France Football speeches and ceremony highlights appear in the video section above, with direct Dailymotion watch links as alternatives to the embedded players.

The takeaway from the 2026 awards

Kane’s first Ballon d’Or and Putellas’s third give the 2026 ceremony two distinct headline stories: a first-time men’s winner and a returning women’s champion. The complete results also recognize the teammates, emerging players, goalkeepers, coaches, clubs, and community work that a two-name headline leaves out.

Start with the confirmed rankings, watch the official highlights, and then look beyond the final goal or assist. That is where an awards roundup becomes a more interesting way to understand soccer.

Editorial note: statistical scopes and club moves are identified where relevant. Analysis is labeled separately from confirmed results. Photo credits accompany each licensed archive image; none is presented as a photograph of the 2026 ceremony.