Spain midfielder Alexia Putellas has won the Ballon d'Or Feminin for a record-equalling third time, keeping the prize 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 (WSL) side London City Lionesses in July.
Putellas joins Spain team-mate Aitana Bonmati on three Ballon d'Or Feminin crowns. Bonmati won the award in 2023, 2024 and 2025, after Putellas claimed it in 2021 and 2022. The past six Ballons d'Or have gone to the Spanish pair, with Norway's Ada Hegerberg (2018) and Megan Rapinoe of the United States (2019) the only non-Spaniards to win the prize. Putellas' latest victory caps a remarkable return after 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," 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. Nicknamed 'La Reina', Putellas scored 21 goals and provided 13 assists in all competitions last season, ranking among the best in Europe's top five leagues. Seven of those goals came in the Women's Champions League, where Barcelona claimed a fourth continental title in six seasons.
Source: BBC Sport Football · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing