Harry Kane Wins 2026 Ballon d'Or, First Englishman in 25 Years

Harry Kane won the men's Ballon d'Or at the London Palladium on Monday, October 26, becoming the first English player to take football's top individual prize since Michael Owen in 2001. Minutes earlier, Alexia Putellas of Spain won the women's Ballon d'Or for the third time.

Kane, 33, was rewarded for a record-breaking 2025-26 season with Bayern Munich and England in which he scored 73 goals and added 8 assists in 65 matches. Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappé finished second and Barcelona's Lamine Yamal third, in a race that the winner himself admitted was hard to call.

The result matters well beyond England. Kane won without lifting the World Cup or the Champions League, beating Spain's world champion Yamal, and he follows Rodri in 2024 and Ousmane Dembélé in 2025 as the third different winner in three years.

Key facts at a glance

• Winner: Harry Kane (Bayern Munich and England), ahead of Kylian Mbappé and Lamine Yamal.
• Women's winner: Alexia Putellas (Barcelona, now London City Lionesses, and Spain), her third Ballon d'Or, ahead of Ewa Pajor and Khadija Shaw.
• History: Kane is the fifth Englishman to win, after Stanley Matthews (1956), Bobby Charlton (1966), Kevin Keegan (1978 and 1979) and Michael Owen (2001).
• Club firsts: He is the first Bayern player to win since Karl-Heinz Rummenigge in 1981 and the first Bundesliga player since Matthias Sammer in 1996.
• Other headline awards: Paris Saint-Germain won men's club of the year for a second straight year, Barcelona won the women's club award, and Yamal won the men's young player award for a third straight year.

How the Ballon d'Or is decided

The Ballon d'Or is run by the French magazine France Football. A jury of 100 journalists from around the world each ranks 10 players, in order, from a 30-player shortlist, and the player with the most points wins.

This was the 70th edition of the men's award. For most of the past two decades it was dominated by Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, who hold eight and five titles respectively. With both now past their peak, the 2026 race was seen as one of the most open in years.

The evening did not run smoothly. Hours before the ceremony, the official Ballon d'Or website briefly published three pre-written stories, each naming a different winner: Kane, Mbappé and Yamal. The organisers removed them and said the profiles had been prepared in advance for nominees in case of a win and did not reveal the podium. The ceremony itself then started 30 minutes late.

Kane's record season

Kane's case rested on goals, and the numbers were unusually lopsided. He scored 61 goals in 51 matches for Bayern, the most any player has scored in a single season for the club, ahead of famous Bayern strikers such as Gerd Müller and Robert Lewandowski.

That total was 19 more than any other player in Europe's top five leagues managed. It was also the highest club tally since Cristiano Ronaldo scored 61 for Real Madrid 11 years earlier.

The breakdown shows how evenly spread the goals were:

Figures cover all competitions in the 2025-26 season.

His 36 league goals made him the Bundesliga's top scorer by 17. In the German Cup final he scored a hat-trick in a 3-0 win over Stuttgart, helping Bayern to a domestic double. Only Lionel Messi, with 82 goals for Barcelona and Argentina in 2011-12, has scored more in a season among players from Europe's top leagues.

Kane also won the men's striker of the year award earlier in the night. His previous best Ballon d'Or finish was 10th. On stage he said he was "almost speechless" and that winning in London made it "extra special".

England manager Thomas Tuchel said he "ran out of superlatives" long ago to describe Kane's performances and that winning after 25 years made the honour special. Wembley Stadium's arch was lit gold on Monday night to mark the win.

Putellas wins a third title as Barcelona dominate

The women's award went to Alexia Putellas, who also won in 2021 and 2022. The Spain midfielder scored seven goals and set up seven more in last season's Champions League, which Barcelona won with a 4-0 final victory over OL Lyonnes in May.

Putellas spent 14 years at Barcelona before joining London City Lionesses. With no Women's World Cup or Euros in 2026, and the rearranged Women's Africa Cup of Nations falling outside the voting period, the Champions League carried extra weight with voters.

Barcelona players filled much of the top of the ranking. Ewa Pajor finished second and Manchester City's Khadija Shaw third, with Haiti's Melchie Dumornay fourth and Barcelona's Patri Guijarro fifth.

The club swept several other women's prizes:

• Club of the year: Barcelona, for the third time in four years.
• Coach of the year: Pere Romeu of Barcelona.
• Goalkeeper of the year: Cata Coll of Barcelona and Spain.
• Young player of the year: Vicky López of Barcelona and Spain, for the second year running.

The one award Barcelona did not take was women's striker of the year, which went to Charlyn Corral of Pachuca and Mexico. In her speech, Putellas thanked her Barcelona teammates and coaches, and told young players in English that anyone who wants to play football should play, whatever their gender or background.

The rest of the night

Mbappé's second place followed a summer in which he became the all-time top scorer in World Cup history with 22 goals, 10 of them at this year's tournament. Yamal's third place came despite winning the World Cup with Spain.

The men's top 10 was:

1. Harry Kane, Bayern Munich
2. Kylian Mbappé, Real Madrid
3. Lamine Yamal, Barcelona
4. Rodri, Barcelona (previously Manchester City)
5. Lionel Messi, Inter Miami
6. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Paris Saint-Germain
7. Ousmane Dembélé, Paris Saint-Germain
8. Erling Haaland, Manchester City
9. Michael Olise, Bayern Munich
10. Fabián Ruiz, Paris Saint-Germain

Spain's World Cup win was rewarded elsewhere. Luis de la Fuente won men's coach of the year and Athletic Club's Unai Simón was named men's goalkeeper of the year. Accepting the young player award, Yamal said it should have gone to his Barcelona teammate Pau Cubarsí, who finished 12th overall.

Arsenal's Bukayo Saka received the Sócrates Award for social and humanitarian work through his Big Shoe charity. Dembélé collected PSG's club of the year trophy on the club's behalf.

What it means for you

For fans in the UK, this is the first English winner in a quarter of a century, and it came at a ceremony held in London. Kane thanked Tottenham, where he played from the age of 11, as well as Bayern and England.

For fans in the US, Canada and Australia, the result is a useful guide to how the award now works. Voters this year leaned towards sustained scoring over a single tournament, even in a World Cup year. That matters for anyone following next season's race or betting markets on it.

For women's football followers, Putellas's third title puts her in rare company and shows how strongly Champions League form counts in years without a major international tournament. Her move to London City Lionesses also brings a three-time Ballon d'Or winner into English club football.

Another view

Not everyone saw Kane as the clear pick. Yamal and Spain won the World Cup, and in four of the seven World Cup years since the award opened to all nationalities in 1995, it went to a world champion. This is only the fifth time in 20 years that the winner had won none of the World Cup, the Champions League, the Euros or the Copa América, a list otherwise made up of Messi and Ronaldo.

Kane lost in the semi-finals of both the World Cup and the Champions League. He acknowledged the closeness himself on stage, telling voters he could imagine their choice "was tough this year". Former England striker Alan Shearer had argued before the vote that Kane's numbers over 12 to 18 months made him the right winner.

What happens next

Results of a separate fan vote for the greatest Ballon d'Or winner of all time, chosen from players who won the award more than once, are due to be announced on Wednesday.

On the pitch, Kane has started this season with 10 goals in 12 games for Bayern and six in four Nations League matches for England. Bayern are unbeaten in the Bundesliga and the Champions League so far. No player other than Messi or Ronaldo has won back-to-back titles since Marco van Basten in 1988 and 1989.

Yamal has 10 goals and 10 assists in 13 games for Barcelona this season. If he wins next year, at 20, he would become the youngest winner, beating Brazilian Ronaldo, who was 21 in 1997. Putellas, meanwhile, has said Spain will give their best at the next Women's World Cup in Brazil.

Conclusion

Kane's win ends England's 25-year wait and rewards one of the highest-scoring seasons in modern European football. Putellas's third title confirms Barcelona's grip on the women's game.

Practical takeaways:

• Follow Kane and Yamal's goal and assist numbers this season; on this year's evidence, sustained output can outweigh a major trophy with voters.
• Watch the Champions League knockout rounds closely, since next season has no men's World Cup, Euros or Copa América to sway the jury.
• Check Wednesday's all-time fan vote result if you want the last word from this year's ceremony.
• Catch London City Lionesses if you are in England and want to see a current Ballon d'Or winner live.

FAQ

Who was the last Englishman to win the Ballon d'Or before Kane?

Michael Owen, in 2001, while playing for Liverpool.

How many times has Alexia Putellas won?

Three times: in 2021, 2022 and 2026.

Who votes for the Ballon d'Or?

A panel of 100 journalists from around the world, each ranking 10 players from a 30-player shortlist.