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Harry Kane finally has the one individual honour that had eluded him throughout his extraordinary career. The Bayern Munich and England captain was named the winner of the 2026 Men's Ballon d'Or at the London Palladium on Monday, October 26, ending a 25-year wait for an English footballer to receive the game's most prestigious individual award. Ronaldo Nazario presented the trophy during the closing stages of the ceremony, with Kane receiving an enthusiastic reception from the home crowd. His victory followed a prolific campaign for club and country, in which his extraordinary goalscoring record established him among the leading candidates alongside Kylian Mbappe and Lamine Yamal.
The 70th edition of the awards ceremony was held in London for the first time, marking a return to the country where Stanley Matthews, the inaugural Ballon d'Or winner, was born. Organised by France Football in partnership with UEFA, the ceremony recognised performances across the 2025/26 season, including the 2026 World Cup. England's Kane emerged with two trophies, while Spanish football enjoyed another highly successful evening, with awards going to Alexia Putellas, Lamine Yamal, Unai Simon, Luis de la Fuente and several members of Barcelona's women's team. The winners were confirmed during The Guardian's live coverage of the ceremony.
Kane's triumph is especially significant given the length of his career and the individual records he had already accumulated before finally claiming the Ballon d'Or. The England captain has spent more than a decade establishing himself as one of Europe's most reliable goalscorers, first with Tottenham Hotspur and subsequently with Bayern Munich. His move to Germany provided the opportunity to compete regularly for major honours, and his scoring record over the 2025/26 campaign ultimately proved decisive in the race for football's most celebrated individual prize.
According to USA Today's review of Kane's Ballon d'Or credentials, the striker scored 73 goals in 65 appearances during the eligibility period running from August 3, 2025, to July 19, 2026. His performances included another European Golden Shoe-winning season with Bayern and six goals for England at the World Cup, where the national team finished third. Kane also became England's all-time leading World Cup goalscorer, adding another landmark to a career already defined by extraordinary consistency in front of goal.
The award represents a dramatic improvement on Kane's previous Ballon d'Or finishes. He placed 11th in 2025, tenth in 2024, 19th in 2023 and 21st in 2022, repeatedly earning recognition without seriously threatening to win the trophy. His 2026 victory brings him into an exclusive group of English winners alongside Stanley Matthews, Bobby Charlton, Kevin Keegan and Michael Owen. Keegan remains the only Englishman to have won the award twice, while Kane becomes the first English recipient of the 21st century after Owen's triumph with Liverpool in 2001.
Kane also won the Men's Striker of the Year award, recognising his exceptional output in front of goal. The double underlined the scale of his individual achievements during the voting period and gave Bayern Munich one of the defining moments of the evening. For a player whose career has frequently been discussed in terms of the contrast between his goalscoring achievements and his pursuit of silverware, the Ballon d'Or provides recognition of a different kind: an assessment of his overall contribution at the highest level of world football.
The women's award went to Alexia Putellas, who was recognised for her performances with Barcelona during the 2025/26 season and with Spain on the international stage. Putellas, who subsequently moved to London City Lionesses, received the third Ballon d'Or of her career after previously winning in 2021 and 2022. Her latest achievement places her among the most decorated players in the history of the women's award and reflects her importance during another successful campaign for Barcelona.
Putellas delivered an emotional acceptance speech in which she thanked her former Barcelona teammates, coaching staff, supporters and family. She also spoke about the challenges presented by injuries and the satisfaction of returning to the highest level after difficult periods in her career. As reported by The Guardian, the Spanish international dedicated the award to Barcelona and reflected on the 14 years she spent at the club, while encouraging young footballers around the world to pursue the game regardless of the obstacles they encounter.
Barcelona's influence extended far beyond the main women's prize. The club also won Women's Club of the Year, with Pere Romeu named Women's Coach of the Year, Vicky Lopez taking the Women's Young Talent award and Cata Coll winning the Women's Goalkeeper prize. It was one of the strongest collective performances by any club at the ceremony, demonstrating the depth of talent within Barcelona's women's football programme.
Lamine Yamal added another individual honour to his collection by winning the Men's Young Talent of the Year award, formerly known as the Kopa Trophy. The Barcelona winger received the distinction for the third consecutive year, an extraordinary achievement for a player who has already established himself among the biggest names in world football. The award recognised another season of outstanding performances at club and international level, including his contribution to Spain's success at the 2026 World Cup.
Yamal's victory was announced early in the ceremony, before the main Ballon d'Or prizes were presented. During his acceptance speech, the Barcelona star suggested that his teammate Pau Cubarsi also deserved recognition for his performances. The gesture drew attention to the strength of Barcelona's younger generation, with both players having become established figures at an age when most footballers are only beginning their senior careers. The Independent's ceremony report confirmed Yamal's latest success and his comments about Cubarsi.
The women's equivalent went to Vicky Lopez, another Barcelona and Spain international, who retained the award she had won the previous year. Her success added to Barcelona's remarkable collection of individual honours and further reinforced the club's influence across the younger age groups. With Yamal and Lopez both claiming consecutive awards, Barcelona's investment in developing elite young footballers was reflected directly in the ceremony's results.
Spain's World Cup victory played a prominent role in the individual coaching and goalkeeping awards. Luis de la Fuente was named Men's Coach of the Year after guiding the Spanish national team to victory in North America, a major achievement that strengthened his standing among the most successful international managers of his generation. The award recognised not only Spain's tournament results but also the consistency and cohesion of a national side featuring an impressive combination of experienced internationals and emerging players.
Unai Simon received the Men's Goalkeeper of the Year award following his performances for Athletic Club and Spain. The goalkeeper played a significant role in his country's World Cup campaign, and his recognition marked another success for Spanish football on a night already dominated by its players and coaches. In the women's category, Barcelona's Cata Coll was named Goalkeeper of the Year, completing another significant personal achievement after a successful season with her club and national team.
The women's coaching award went to Pere Romeu, whose work with Barcelona was recognised alongside the club's wider achievements. Romeu's success, combined with the prizes awarded to Putellas, Lopez and Coll, gave Barcelona a particularly strong presence among the evening's winners. The results also highlighted the importance attached to major international tournaments in the voting process, with Spain's World Cup triumph providing a compelling case for several of its leading figures.
Paris Saint-Germain collected the Men's Club of the Year award for the second consecutive season, with Ousmane Dembele accepting the trophy on behalf of the French champions. The recognition reflected PSG's achievements over the previous campaign and provided another important moment for a club that has become a major presence in European football. Although Dembele did not retain the individual Ballon d'Or he won in 2025, PSG's collective success ensured that the club remained among the principal winners at the ceremony.
Barcelona claimed the Women's Club of the Year award for the third time in four years, continuing a remarkable period of dominance in the category. The prize complemented the individual honours collected by several Barcelona players and coach Pere Romeu, demonstrating how the club's collective achievements translated into recognition across different categories. The results were confirmed in The Guardian's ceremony coverage, which documented both club awards alongside the individual winners.
One of the evening's most meaningful presentations came when Arsenal and England winger Bukayo Saka received the Socrates Award, which honours humanitarian initiatives and contributions to society beyond football. Saka was recognised for his work through the Big Shoe charity, an initiative associated with providing support and opportunities to people in need. The award highlighted a different aspect of the England international's public profile, acknowledging his involvement in charitable activity rather than his performances on the pitch.
The Socrates Award has become an established part of the Ballon d'Or ceremony, recognising players whose contributions extend beyond competitive football. Saka's success provided another moment of English recognition on a night headlined by Kane's historic individual triumph. While the main prizes focused on goals, trophies and sporting achievements, the presentation underlined the organisers' intention to acknowledge football's wider social impact.
The following list contains every award presented at the London Palladium on October 26, as confirmed in the ceremony's live coverage.
Men's Ballon d'Or: Harry Kane — Bayern Munich / England
Women's Ballon d'Or: Alexia Putellas — Barcelona / London City Lionesses / Spain
Men's Young Talent of the Year (Kopa Trophy): Lamine Yamal — Barcelona / Spain
Women's Young Talent of the Year: Vicky Lopez — Barcelona / Spain
Men's Goalkeeper of the Year (Yashin Trophy): Unai Simon — 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 Striker of the Year (Gerd Muller Trophy): Harry Kane — Bayern Munich / England
Women's Striker of the Year: Charlyn Corral — Pachuca / Mexico
Men's Club of the Year: Paris Saint-Germain — France
Women's Club of the Year: Barcelona — Spain
Socrates Award: Bukayo Saka — Arsenal / England
The complete list of recipients was documented in The Guardian's live report. Additional information about the awards and the voting process is available through UEFA's official Ballon d'Or guide.
The celebrations in London followed an unusual controversy earlier in the day, when the official Ballon d'Or website briefly published articles naming three different players as the 2026 Men's Ballon d'Or winner. Harry Kane, Kylian Mbappe and Lamine Yamal each appeared in separate prepared articles announcing their supposed victory, prompting speculation that the organisers had accidentally revealed the result before the ceremony.
However, the publications were not genuine leaks. The organisers explained that profiles had been prepared in advance for multiple nominees and had been accidentally made publicly accessible. All three articles were subsequently removed, with the organisers stressing that their publication offered no indication of the final voting results. AS reported on the website error, while The Independent documented the confusion it created among supporters.
Kane's eventual victory gave the earlier mistake an ironic conclusion. One of the players prematurely announced as the winner did indeed receive the award, but only after the official presentation confirmed the outcome. The incident also demonstrated how quickly information can spread during a major football ceremony, particularly when the identity of the winner remains closely guarded until the final announcement.
The 2026 Ballon d'Or ceremony will be remembered principally for Kane's first victory, but its significance extended well beyond the Bayern Munich striker. Putellas joined an exclusive group of multiple winners in the women's game, Yamal continued his extraordinary run of recognition at a young age, and Barcelona collected several awards across women's football. Spain's World Cup achievements were reflected in the coaching and goalkeeping categories, while PSG received another major club honour.
For England, Kane's triumph marked the end of a wait stretching back to 2001, with the country's leading striker finally receiving recognition at the very
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