Harry Kane wins 2026 Ballon d’Or as football’s leading awards are announced

Harry Kane has won the 2026 Ballon d’Or, beating Real Madrid forward Kylian Mbappe and Barcelona winger Lamine Yamal to the men’s award.

The ceremony, held in London, was the 70th edition of the annual awards organised by France Football. For the fifth time in the history of the Ballon d’Or, achievements were assessed across the 2025-26 season rather than the calendar year, covering the period from 3 August 2025 to 19 July 2026.

Kane, who plays for Bayern Munich and England, also won the Gerd Muller Trophy for the world’s best men’s striker.

Alexia Putellas was named the world’s best women’s player, while Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal won the Kopa Trophy for the best young men’s player. Barcelona’s Vicky Lopez received the equivalent women’s award.

Paris Saint-Germain were named the best men’s club, with Barcelona recognised as the best women’s club.

Bayern Munich’s Michael Olise finished ninth in the men’s Ballon d’Or voting, with Manchester City striker Erling Haaland eighth. Paris Saint-Germain forward Ousmane Dembele was seventh, while team-mate Khvicha Kvaratskhelia came sixth.

Lionel Messi, now with Inter Miami, was fifth, behind fourth-placed Rodri of Manchester City and Barcelona. Yamal was third, with Mbappe second.

The full men’s Ballon d’Or ranking was:

1. Harry Kane, Bayern Munich, England
2. Kylian Mbappe, Real Madrid, France
3. Lamine Yamal, Barcelona, Spain
4. Rodri, Manchester City / Barcelona, Spain
5. Lionel Messi, Inter Miami, Argentina
6. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Paris Saint-Germain, Georgia
7. Ousmane Dembele, Paris Saint-Germain, France
8. Erling Haaland, Manchester City, Norway
9. Michael Olise, Bayern Munich, France
10. Fabian Ruiz, Paris Saint-Germain, Spain
11. Jude Bellingham, Real Madrid, England
12. Pau Cubarsi, Barcelona, Spain
13. Achraf Hakimi, Paris Saint-Germain, Morocco
14. Vitinha, Paris Saint-Germain, Portugal
15. Declan Rice, Arsenal, England
16. Ferran Torres, Barcelona / Paris Saint-Germain, Spain
17. Vinicius Junior, Real Madrid, Spain
18. Marc Cucurella, Chelsea / Real Madrid, Spain
19. Joao Neves, Paris Saint-Germain, Portugal
20. William Pacho, Paris Saint-Germain, Ecuador
21. Gabriel Magalhaes, Arsenal, Brazil
22. Lautaro Martinez, Inter, Argentina
23. Nuno Mendes, Paris Saint-Germain, Portugal
24. Luis Diaz, Bayern Munich, Colombia
25. Marquinhos, Paris Saint-Germain, Brazil
26. Dayot Upamecano, Bayern Munich, France
27. Bruno Fernandes, Manchester United, Portugal
28. Julian Quinones, Al-Qadsiah, Mexico
29. Sadio Mane, Al-Nassr, Senegal
29. William Saliba, Arsenal, France

Women’s Ballon d’Or

Alexia Putellas, listed with Barcelona / London City Lionesses and Spain, won the women’s Ballon d’Or.

The leading positions supplied were: Alexia Putellas first; Alexia Greenwood of Manchester City and England 26th; Caroline Weir of Lyon / Real Madrid and England 25th; Momoko Tanikawa of Bayern Munich and Japan 23rd; Kerstin Casparij of Manchester City and the Netherlands 23rd; Manaka Matsukubo of North Carolina / Chelsea and Japan 22nd; Scarlett Camberos of Club America and Mexico 21st; Selma Bacha of Lyon and France 20th; Tessa Wullaert of Inter / Como and Belgium 19th; Barbra Banda of Orlando Pride and Zambia 18th; Esmee Brugts of Barcelona and the Netherlands 17th; Maria Leon of Barcelona / London City Lionesses and Spain 16th; Katja Kull of Barcelona and Spain 15th; Wendie Renard of Lyon and France 14th; Mariona Caldentey of Arsenal and Spain 13th; Klara Buhl of Bayern Munich and Germany 11th; and Yui Hasegawa of Manchester City and Japan 12th.

The other listed players were Rose Lavelle of Gotham and the United States, 27th; Lorena of Kansas City and Brazil, 28th; Melvine Malard of Manchester United / Chelsea and France, 28th; and Vivianne Miedema of Manchester City and the Netherlands, 28th.

Other winners

Unai Simon of Athletic Bilbao and Spain won the Yashin Trophy for best men’s goalkeeper. Cata Coll of Barcelona and Spain won the women’s goalkeeper award.

Luis de la Fuente was named men’s coach of the year, while Barcelona Women’s Pere Romeu won the women’s coaching award.

Bukayo Saka received the Socrates Award, and Charline Coral was named the best women’s striker.

The top 10 for the Kopa Trophy were Lamine Yamal, Pau Cubarsi, Warren Zaire-Emery, Lennart Karl, Yan Diomande, Ayoub Bouaddi, Kerim Alajbegovic, Eli Junior Kroupi, Ibrahim Maza and Johan Manzambi.

They represented Barcelona, Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich, Leipzig / Real Madrid, Lille / Manchester City, Juventus, Bournemouth, Bayer Leverkusen and Freiburg / Aston Villa respectively. Their national teams were Spain, Spain, France, Germany, Ivory Coast, Morocco, Bosnia, France, Algeria and Switzerland.