The 2026 Ballon d’Or ceremony took place yesterday at the London Palladium Theatre in London on Monday, October 26.
Bayern Munich and England forward was crowned men’s player of the year, becoming the second English player to clinch the prestigious award in twenty-five years after Michael Owen made history in 2001 as the first English player to win the award.
Kane edged out fellow contenders Lamine Yamal and Kylian Mbappé to be crowned as best player in the world. His win came against the backdrop of remarkable performances for his club and country at the 2026 World Cup.
Below are the official top ten men’s footballers for the 2026 Ballon d’Or
1. Harry Kane
2. Kylian Mbappé
3. Lamine Yamal
4. Rodri Hernández
5. Lionel Messi
6. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia
7. Ousmane Dembélé
8. Erling Haaland
9. Michael Olise
10. Fabián Ruiz
Despite Kane winning the biggest prize of the night, Spain swept the remaining categories of the year’s Ballon d’Or awards. Even though he lost out to Kane in the male football of the year category, Yamal won the young player of the year award.
Men’s Young Talent: Lamine Yamal (Spain)
Yamal beat other young talents like Cubarsí and Zaïre-Emery to the award.
1 Lamine Yamal
2 Pau Cubarsí
3 Warren Zaïre-Emery
4 Lennart Karl
5 Yan Diomande
6 Ayyoub Bouaddi
7 Kerim Alajbegovic
8 Eli Junior Kroupi
9 Ibrahim Maza
10 Johan Manzambi
Women’s Ballon d’Or 2026: Alexia Putellas
Brazil and Barcelona midfielder Alexia Putellas won the women’s player of the year.
Below are the official top ten women footballers for the 2026 Ballon d’Or
1 Alexia Putellas
2 Ewa Pajor
3 Khadija Shaw
4 Melchie Dumornay
5 Patri Guijarro
6 Caroline Graham Hansen
7 Pernille Harder
8 Claudia Pina
9 Alessia Russo
10 Temwa Chawinga
Women’s Young Talent: Vicky Lopez (Spain)
The women’s young player of the year went to
Barcelona & Spain’s Wonderkid Vicky Lopez. She beat the likes of Clara Serrajordi, Veerle Buurman, Lily Yohanna, and Felicia Schröder to the award
Men’s Coach: Luis de La Fuente (Spain)
De La Fuente, who guided the Spain national team to a historic second World Cup win, edged out compatriots like Mikel Arteta of Arsenal, Unai Emery of Aston Villa and Luis Enrique of Paris Saint-Germain to clinch the Coach of the Year prize.
Women’s Coach: Pere Romeu (Spain)
Dubbed a tactical genius, Romeu, who is the coach of FC Barcelona Femení, won the Women’s Coach of the Year.
Men’s Goalkeeper: Unai Simón (Spain)
Simon beat fellow Spaniard and Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya to win the goalkeeper of the year award.
Below are the official top ten men’s goalkeepers of the 2026 Ballon d’Or
2 David Raya
3 Thibaut Courtois
4 Matvey Safonov
5 Emiliano Martínez
6 Vozinha
7 Joan García
8 Yassine Bounou
9 Édouard Mendy
10 Greg or Kobel
Women’s Goalkeeper: Cata Coll (Spain)
The Spain and Barcelona shot-stopper clinched the goalkeeper of the year award, beating Ann-Katrin Berger, Ayaka Yamashita, Hannah Hampton and Lorena to the prize.
Men’s club of the year: Paris Saint-Germain
Women’s club of the year: Barcelona
Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka won the Socrates award.
The award recognises outstanding humanitarian work, social responsibility, commitment to social justice and solidarity projects beyond the football pitch!
