Spain midfielder Alexia Putellas has won the Ballon d'Or Feminin for a record-equalling third time, keeping the award in Spanish hands for a sixth consecutive year. The 32-year-old captained Barcelona to Champions League glory as part of a quadruple in 2025-26 before joining Women's Super League side London City Lionesses in July. She now shares the record with Spain teammate Aitana Bonmati, who won in 2023, 2024 and 2025 after Putellas claimed the prize in 2021 and 2022.
The past six Ballons d'Or have been won by the Spanish pair, with Norway's Ada Hegerberg (2018) and Megan Rapinoe of the United States (2019) the only non-Spaniards to claim the award. Putellas' latest victory caps a remarkable return to the pinnacle of world football after suffering a career-threatening anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury in 2022.
"All the boys and girls around the world - if you love football and if you want to play football, play football. It doesn't matter if you're a boy or if you're a girl," Putellas said. "Doesn't matter where you come from. Don't listen if someone tells you, you can't do it. Believe in yourself."
She collected the most votes from an international panel of journalists across FIFA's top-50 ranked countries, with Barcelona striker Ewa Pajor second and Manchester City forward Khadija Shaw third. Meanwhile, England captain Harry Kane won the men's Ballon d'Or, becoming the first English player to do so since Michael Owen in 2001.
Source: BBC Sport Football · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing