Putellas is celebrating, too

LIVE: Harry Kane Wins the Prestigious Ballon d’Or

Alexia Putellas and Harry Kane were honored!(Bild: AP/Kin Cheung)

High emotions in London! Harry Kane has been awarded the coveted Ballon d’Or. On the women’s side, Alexia Putellas was named Player of the Year. Other honors of the evening: Lamine Yamal is Young Player of the Year, and Spain coach Luis de la Fuente was named Coach of the Year. Bukayo Saka received a special award, and Unai Simon was named Goalkeeper of the Year. Meanwhile, the women’s team from FC Barcelona celebrated winning the “Team of the Year” title. Paris Saint-Germain received this honor in the men’s category. 

English soccer striker Harry Kane has won the prestigious Ballon d’Or for the first time. The 33-year-old scored 61 goals last season for Bayern Munich and won both the league title and the cup with the top German club. He also added twelve goals for England’s national team, including six at the World Cup, where the “Three Lions” finished third. At the gala in London, Spain’s Alexia Putellas was named Best Female Player—for the third time, following her wins in 2021 and 2022.

Kane received the award on Monday in his hometown, of all places. “I’m almost speechless. I can imagine it was really difficult this year—there are so many outstanding players here,” said the top scorer. He added that he was incredibly proud of his performance in the 2025–26 season. “It was by far my best season,” Kane emphasized. England’s team captain had been considered a strong contender leading up to the awards; in the journalists’ vote, he prevailed over, among others, World Cup top scorer Kylian Mbappé, Spanish World Cup champion Lamine Yamal, and his Munich teammate Michael Olise. He also took home the award for best forward.

Yamal Named Best “Young Player”
Kane is the first Bayern player since Karl-Heinz Rummenigge in 1981 to win the award. He is also the first German Bundesliga player since Matthias Sammer in 1996 and the first English player since Michael Owen in 2001. For the third year in a row, Yamal had to settle for the award for best “Young Player.” Spain’s national team goalkeeper, Unai Simon of Athletic Bilbao, was named best goalkeeper. Spain’s national team coach, Luis de la Fuente, was named Coach of the Year, and Champions League winner Paris St. Germain was named Team of the Year.

Cata Coll was named Best Female Goalkeeper(Bild: EPA/TOLGA AKMEN)

On the women’s side, Putellas tied Aitana Bonmati’s record of three titles, having most recently won three in a row. Putellas had an outstanding season with FC Barcelona before transferring to the London City Lionesses in England this summer. Pere Romeu of FC Barcelona was named Women’s Coach of the Year, and his team was also named Team of the Year. The awards for Best Goalkeeper (Cata Coll) and Best Young Player (Vicky Lopez) also went to Barça at the 70th edition of the ceremony.

Here’s the live ticker to catch up on:

The prestigious award is presented by the trade magazine “France Football” and the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). One journalist from each of the top 100 nations in the FIFA World Rankings was eligible to vote in the final decision. The evaluation period ran from August 3, 2025, to July 19, 2026, the day of the World Cup final.