Who deserves the “Ballon d’Or”?

On October 26 of this year, a ceremony was held in London to award the “Ballon d’Or 2026” to the best football player of the year.

The recipient of the most prestigious award in football, the Ballon d’Or, among men is 33-year-old forward of the England national team and Bayern Munich, Harry Kane. This is the first time he has received this award in his professional career. Kane also became the first English footballer in the last 25 years to win the Ballon d’Or. Michael Owen received it in 2001.

In the 2025/2026 season, Kane scored 73 goals in 65 matches for the club and the England national team, helping Bayern retain the Bundesliga title (Germany) and win the German national cup. Kane also became Bayern’s top scorer in the Champions League, scoring 14 goals.

In the ranking of the best male footballers, Kylian Mbappé, forward of Real Madrid and the France national team, took second place. Lamine Yamal from Barcelona and the Spain national team was third, his teammate from the national team and player of Manchester City and Barcelona, Rodri, was fourth, and Argentine forward Lionel Messi from Inter Miami was fifth.

Among women, the Ballon d’Or was awarded to Spanish midfielder Alexia Putellas, who previously won last year’s Champions League with Barcelona and then moved to London City Lionesses. This victory marked Putellas’ third win in this category. She was previously recognized as the best footballer in the world in 2021 and 2022.

The award for the best young player, the “Kopa Trophy,” was awarded for the third consecutive time to Lamine Yamal from Barcelona. In the women’s category, the award for the best young female footballer of the year went to Barcelona player Vicky López.

The “Yashin Trophy,” awarded to the best goalkeeper of the year, among men went to the goalkeeper of the Spain national team and Athletic Bilbao, Unai Simón, who won the championship title at the World Cup with the national team. Among women, the award went to Barcelona goalkeeper Kata Köl.

In the category of “Best Coach of the Year,” the best among men was recognized as the head coach of the Spain national team, Luis de la Fuente, and among women, the head coach of Barcelona, Pere Romeu.

The best men’s club of 2026 was recognized as Paris Saint-Germain, and the best women’s club was Barcelona. Both clubs won the titles of Champions League winners for the 2025/2026 season.

In the category of top scorer of the year, the “Gerd Müller Trophy,” among men, the award went to Harry Kane, and among women, to Mexican forward of Pachuca, Charlín Corral. This is Corral’s first such award at the Ballon d’Or ceremony.

The “Socrates” award, given for social activities and humanitarian work, was awarded to England national team forward and Arsenal player Bukayo Saka.

This year, the Ballon d’Or ceremony took place in London for the first time. It was held to mark the 70th anniversary of the award’s establishment, and the choice of London as the venue was linked to the desire to honor the memory of the first Ballon d’Or winner — English footballer Stanley Matthews.

It is worth noting that the Ballon d’Or has been awarded most frequently to Argentine forward Lionel Messi — 8 times, and Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo — 5 times.