Harry Kane wins the 2026 Ballon d'Or on Monday, October 26, 2026, at the London Palladium in London. The English striker for Bayern Munich finishes ahead of Kylian Mbappé and Lamine Yamal, succeeding Ousmane Dembélé, who won the award last year at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris's 1st arrondissement. In the women's category, Spain's Alexia Putellas wins her third Ballon d'Or.
For the first edition held outside Paris, the trophy goes to an Englishman in his own capital. From a Paris perspective, the evening leaves mixed feelings: Dembélé finishes seventh, but PSG, based at the Parc des Princes in the 16th arrondissement, is named Club of the Year. Here is the full men’s and women’s ranking, along with the evening’s list of winners.
Kane had the strongest record of the season, winning the Bundesliga title with Bayern Munich and finishing third at the World Cup with England. Earlier in the evening, he had already received the Gerd Müller Trophy as top scorer: a double award recognizing a striker of rare consistency.
You have to go back to 2001 winner Michael Owen to find an Englishman on the winners’ list. Before him, Kevin Keegan won in 1978 and 1979, Bobby Charlton in 1966, and Stanley Matthews was the first recipient in 1956. It was precisely to pay tribute to Matthews that this 70th edition was held in London: 70 years later, the story comes full circle on the same stage.
Behind Kane, Kylian Mbappé takes second place, with Lamine Yamal completing the podium. PSG have three players in the top 10: Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (6th), Ousmane Dembélé (7th) and Fabián Ruiz (10th). Michael Olise, in ninth place, is the third Frenchman in the top 10.
Further down, Jude Bellingham narrowly misses out on the top 10, coming in 11th. Seven other Paris Saint-Germain players rank between 13th and 25th, led by Achraf Hakimi (13th) and Vitinha (14th). France’s William Saliba and Senegal’s Sadio Mané bring up the rear, tied for 29th place.
With this triumph, Alexia Putellas wins her third Women’s Ballon d’Or, following her victories in 2021 and 2022. The Spaniard, who left FC Barcelona this summer to join London City Lionesses, thus joins compatriot Aitana Bonmatí, a three-time winner from 2023 to 2025 who is absent from this year’s list of nominees after a season disrupted by injury.
She finished ahead of Poland’s Ewa Pajor and Jamaica’s Khadija Shaw. No French player made the top 10: Wendie Renard, in 14th place, was the highest-ranked of the three French players in the running.
The evening belonged to Spain and FC Barcelona, who scooped several awards. PSG, two-time Champions League winners, took home the Club of the Year award, while Luis de la Fuente, world champion with Spain, was named Coach of the Year.
The list of 30 nominees is drawn up by the editorial staff of France Football, which created the award in 1956, with support from experts associated with UEFA, co-organizer of the ceremony. The winner is then selected by a jury of 100 journalists, one from each of the 100 highest-ranked countries in the FIFA rankings. For the Women's Ballon d'Or, the jury consists of 50 journalists.
Each jury member ranks their ten favorite players according to three criteria: individual performances, collective results and titles, followed by class and fair play. Only the season from August 3, 2025, to July 19, 2026—the day of the World Cup final—counts. The scoring system then converts each ranking into points:
The player with the most points wins the trophy. In the event of a tie, the number of first-place votes determines the winner. Voting had closed on September 28, nearly a month before the ceremony.
Held at the Théâtre du Châtelet since 2019, the ceremony left Paris for the first time in its history to celebrate the trophy’s 70th anniversary. Hosted by Thierry Henry and journalist Kate Scott, the evening was broadcast free-to-air on La chaîne L'Équipe, as detailed in our article on the ceremony’s time and channel.
For Parisian fans, it coincided with the PSG vs. Lyon match at the Parc des Princes. All the results can be found on the official Ballon d'Or website.
Dates and Opening Time
On October 26, 2026
From 09:00 p.m. to 11:15 p.m.
Official website
ballondor.com
