On Oct. 26, the world of soccer celebrated the annual Ballon d’Or Ceremony. This year it was hosted in London at the London Palladium instead of its usual host city, Paris, France. It was switched to honor the very first Ballon d’Or winner, English legend Sir Stanley Matthews, and to celebrate 70 years of the Ballon d’Or ceremony. Not only is England home to Sir Matthews, but it is also the place associated with the making of modern soccer. This makes London a perfect location to celebrate the 70th anniversary.
The Ballon d’Or was founded in 1956 by the French magazine France Football. It was created by Gabriel Hanot, a journalist and editor at the magazine. Initially, it was only for European players. But in 1995, it expanded to include players of any nationality playing for European teams, and in 2007, it opened to players worldwide. The women’s Ballon d’Or was later introduced in 2018.
The awards include the Ballon d’Or, Ballon d’Or Féminin, Kopa Trophy (men’s and women’s young talent), Yashin Trophy (men’s and women’s goalkeeper), Gerd Müller Trophy (highest-scoring male and female strikers), Club of the Year Award (men’s and women’s), Socrates Award (humanitarian and community work done by a soccer player), and Johan Cruyff Trophy (men’s and women’s coach of the year).
Now, with that little history lesson, here are the 2026 Ballon d’Or winners!
Women’s Club of the Year: FC Barcelona
FC Barcelona, or FC Barcelona Femení, is a Spanish team playing in Liga F. This season, they won the UEFA Women’s Champions League, Liga F, the Spanish Cup, and the Spanish Super Cup. This is their third time winning the Women’s Club of the Year trophy.
Men’s Club of the Year: Paris Saint-Germain
Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) is a French club playing in Ligue 1. This season, they won the Champions League, Ligue 1, UEFA Super Cup, FIFA Intercontinental Cup, and Trophée des Champions. They have won Men’s Club of the Year for two consecutive years now.
Socrates Award: Bukayo Saka
A forward for England and Arsenal, Saka has worked with the charity BigShoe, contributed to disaster relief, supported local communities in England, and stood against hatred on his social media. He is one of the biggest anti-racism advocates in the soccer world.
Women’s Striker of the Year: Charlyn Corral
A forward for Pachuca and Mexico, Charlyn Corral is the first Mexican to ever win a Ballon d’Or award. She topped goal-scoring charts this season with 43 goals across 46 matches and 11 assists.
Men’s Striker of the Year: Harry Kane
Harry Kane is a forward for Bayern Munich and England’s national team. Across 65 matches this season, he scored 73 goals and assisted eight.
Women’s Coach of the Year: Pere Romeu
Romeu is coach of FC Barcelona Femení. With his team, he won the Champions League, Liga F, the Spanish Cup, and the Spanish Super Cup.
Men’s Coach of the Year: Luis de la Fuente
Coach of the Spain men’s national team, Luis de la Fuente won the 2026 FIFA World Cup with Spain.
Women’s Goalkeeper of the Year: Cata Coll
Coll is the goalkeeper for FC Barcelona and Spain’s national team. Across 39 matches, she kept 23 clean sheets and only conceded 18 goals. With FC Barcelona, she won the Champions League, Liga F, the Spanish Cup, and the Spanish Super Cup. With Spain, she won the Nations League.
Men’s Goalkeeper of the Year: Unai Simon
A goalkeeper for Athletic Club and Spain’s national team, Simon kept 22 clean sheets and conceded 76 goals across 62 season matches. With Spain, he won the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Women’s Young Talent of the Year: Vicky Lopez
Lopez is a forward for FC Barcelona and the Spain national team. At just 20 years old, she has 17 goals and 15 assists across 53 matches. With FC Barcelona, she won the Champions League, Liga F, the Spanish Cup, and the Spanish Super Cup. With Spain, she won the Nations League. This is her second consecutive Kopa Trophy.
Men’s Young Talent of the Year: Lamine Yamal
Yamal is a forward for FC Barcelona and the Spain national team. At just 19 years old, he has 25 goals and 20 assists across 57 matches. With Spain, he won the 2026 FIFA World Cup. With FC Barcelona, he won La Liga and the Spanish Super Cup. This is his third consecutive Kopa Trophy, making history as the first person to win it three times.
Women’s Ballon d’Or: Alexia Putellas
Putellas plays as a midfielder for London City Lionesses and the Spain national team. She formerly played for FC Barcelona as well. Across 53 matches, Putellas scored 26 goals and provided 15 assists. In her last season with FC Barcelona, she won the Champions League, Liga F, the Spanish Cup, and the Spanish Super Cup. With Spain, she won the Nations League. This is her last award with FC Barcelona and her third Ballon d’Or.
Men’s Ballon d’Or: Harry Kane
Harry Kane is a forward for Bayern Munich and England’s national team. With Bayern Munich, he won the Bundesliga, the German Cup, and the German Super Cup. With England, he landed a third-place finish in the 2026 FIFA World Cup. This is his first Ballon d’Or.
While England may be known as the birthplace of modern soccer, Spain dominated this year’s Ballon d’Or, taking home eight awards. Spanish soccer is definitely something to keep your eye on. However, England didn’t fall too far behind as their own Kane took home two awards. After years of struggles, Kane finally managed to get recognition in the sports world. And, of course, we can’t forget Paris Saint-Germain, who took home the Men’s Club of the Year award for the second consecutive year.