Hello and welcome to Sports Mole's live Ballon d'Or 2026 reaction blog!

Twenty-five years of hurt ended for England on Monday evening, when Bayern Munich marksman Harry Kane became the first Three Lion to take home the prestigious prize since his striker predecessor Michael Owen in 2001.

As all the reaction to Kane's triumph floods in, stay up to date with our live commentary below!

Ballon d'Or 2026 reaction live: Who won at Monday's ceremony?

Kane won the 2026 men’s Ballon d’Or on Monday, October 26, becoming the first English winner since Michael Owen in 2001.

Kane scored 73 goals for Bayern Munich and England in 2025-26, including six at the World Cup, and beat Kylian Mbappe and Lamine Yamal in the final vote, making it five different men’s winners in five years.

Kane is the fourth-oldest first-time men’s winner in the history of the award and also took home the Gerd Muller Trophy as the season’s top scorer.

Alexia Putellas, now of London City Lionesses, claimed her third women’s Ballon d’Or, matching Aitana Bonmati, after Barcelona’s quadruple in 2025-26.

Putellas's former mentor Pere Romeu was named Women’s Coach of the Year after Barcelona won every available trophy, including a 4-0 Champions League final against Lyon.

Barcelona were also women’s Club of the Year, while Paris Saint-Germain took the men’s prize as two-time defending Champions League winners.

Despite missing out on the big one, Yamal won the men’s Kopa Trophy for the third year running, with Barcelona club-mate Vicky Lopez taking the women’s award.

Unai Simon of Athletic Bilbao won the men’s Yashin Trophy after conceding just one goal in eight World Cup matches for Spain, fending off strong competition from David Raya, while Cata Coll took the women’s equivalent for Barcelona.

Luis de la Fuente was named men’s Coach of the Year for guiding Spain to the World Cup title, while Charlyn Corral of Pachuca won women’s Gerd Muller Trophy, becoming the first Mexican recipient in the history of the gala.

Last but by no means least, Arsenal winger Bukayo Saka collected the Socrates Award for his work with the BigShoe charity, which funds operations for children in Nigeria and across Africa.