So Harry Kane did it. Yes, the guy everyone joked would never win anything. 26 October, London Palladium. Bayern and England’s main man walked off with the 2026 Ballon d’Or, and Kylian Mbappé and Lamine Yamal had to settle for second and third. Over on the women’s side, Alexia Putellas took it. Again. That’s three for her now.
London hosting it was a big deal on its own. It was the 70th Ballon d’Or, and the first time ever the show left Paris for England. Why England? Blame Stanley Matthews, in a good way. He won the very first one, way back in 1956.
25 years, and finally an English winner
Last English guy to win it? Michael Owen, in 2001. Now Kane sits on a tiny list with Matthews, Bobby Charlton, Kevin Keegan and Owen. And he didn’t go home with just one trophy, he grabbed the Gerd Müller Trophy too, for best men’s striker. His speech thanked family, teammates, old coaches and, yep, Tottenham Hotspur. Spurs fans won’t mind that.
Mbappé ended up second, Yamal third. Then Rodri at four and Lionel Messi at five. Spots six to ten: Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Ousmane Dembélé, Erling Haaland, Michael Olise, Fabián Ruiz.
Alexia Putellas makes it three
Putellas already had two, from 2021 and 2022, so three ties the women’s record. Ewa Pajor was runner-up, Khadija Shaw third. And Barcelona? They pretty much swept the women’s awards. Club of the year, coach for Pere Romeu, keeper for Cata Coll, young talent for Vicky López. Not a bad evening.
Full list of Ballon d’Or 2026 winners
- Men’s Ballon d’Or: Harry Kane (Bayern Munich, England)
- Women’s Ballon d’Or: Alexia Putellas (Spain)
- Men’s Young Talent (Kopa Trophy): Lamine Yamal (Barcelona, Spain)
- Women’s Young Talent: Vicky López (Barcelona, Spain)
- Men’s Striker of the Year (Gerd Müller Trophy): Harry Kane
- Women’s Striker of the Year: Charlyn Corral (Pachuca, Mexico)
- Men’s Goalkeeper of the Year (Yashin Trophy): Unai Simón (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)
- Men’s Club of the Year: Paris Saint-Germain
- Women’s Club of the Year: Barcelona
- Sócrates Award: Bukayo Saka (Arsenal, England)
Was it the right call?
Mbappé fans and Yamal fans will be arguing about this for a while, no doubt. Still, Kane just kept scoring, and the voters, one journalist from each of FIFA’s top 100 countries, picked him. Years of ‘no trophies’ memes, and this is how he shuts them up. Pretty good answer, if you ask me.