Ballon d'or 2026
Welcome to our live coverage of the 2026 Ballon d'Or awards!
Harry Kane wins 2026 Ballon d'Or at London ceremony; Bayern Munich striker becomes first English winner of award in 25 years; England captain hit 73 goals for club and country last season; ex-Tottenham forward beat Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe and Barcelona winger Lamine Yamal to prize
Harry Kane has become the first English winner of the Ballon d'Or in 25 years after being honoured at a ceremony in London.
Michael Owen was the last player from England to receive the prestigious individual accolade in 2001, but Kane's incredible 73-goal haul last season for club and country earned him the award from French magazine France Football.
Bayern Munich forward Kane was a popular winner in the capital and has followed in the footsteps of Sir Stanley Matthews, Sir Bobby Charlton, Kevin Keegan and Owen as a Ballon d'Or winner from England.The biggest night in world soccer was delayed 45 minutes due to traffic and congestion getting into the London Palladium, but once the 70th edition of the ceremony began, it delivered plenty to talk about. All eyes were on a wide-open race for the men's award, where Harry Kane held off stiff competition from Lamine Yamal and Kylian Mbappé to take soccer's most prestigious individual honor.
On the women's side, Alexia Putellas took home a third career Ballon d'Or Femenin title, beating the likes of Ewa Pajor and Melchie Dumornay to the award that was dominated by Aitana Bonmatí for the past three years.
Spain and Spanish clubs' dominance was a major talking point on the night: Luis de la Fuente took home best men's coach after winning the 2026 World Cup and Pere Romeu of Barcelona Femeni received the honors as best women's coach; Unai Simón and Cata Coll were named 
best goalkeeper for their heroics with Spain and Barcelona Femeni respectively; Vicky Lopez won a second straight young women's player of the year crown and Lamine Yamal took a third straight young men's player of the year win.
Here are all the the latest updates, reactions and winners from London as it happened.
England head coach Thomas Tuchel led the tributes to Kane, who became the first Bayern player to win the award in 45 years.
"Congratulations Harry on a deserved Ballon d'Or!" said Tuchel.
"I ran out of superlatives to describe your performances a long time ago, but I'm delighted to see that you have now been formally recognised by the football world.
"To become the first Englishman to win this huge honour in 25 years makes it extra special and we are lucky to have you as our leader."I know you will enjoy this moment with your loved ones and then get back to doing what you do best - scoring goals and winning football matches.'
Prince William, patron of the Football Association, also sent his congratulations.
"What a fantastic achievement and so deserved," the Prince of Wales wrote on Instagram.
"A brilliant captain, a remarkable player and someone who has given football fans across the world so many unforgettable moments."
…which means that’s it from me. Thanks all for your company and comments – sorry I couldn’t get to them all – mazal tov to all the winners, Alexia and Aitch in particular, and peace out.
“And then lastly for me it’s just the journey. For any young boy or girl wanting to achieve their dream, anything is possible with hard work when no one else is watching. To go through the ups and downs, to learn with resilience, determination and self-belief … anything is possible.
Harry Kane and Alexia Putellas are your respective men's and women's Ballon d'Or winners, as well as several other awards being presented at the 70th anniversary of the Ballon d'Or. It was a great night for all the winners, and congrats to them all.On a night when they won prize after prize, the big one -- in men's soccer -- got away from Spain.
Winning the World Cup wasn't enough to secure Lamine Yamal the award (and breaking the tournament's goals record wasn't enough for another, Spain-based player, Kylian Mbappé, either).
In 2010 when Spain's men won the World Cup, they missed out on the Ballon d'Or too. Lionel Messi finished ahead of Andrés Iniesta and Xavi.
In 2026, it's the same story. Once again, perhaps Spain suffered from being an incredible collective, without one, undeniable individual candidate, given that Yamal was a little below par at the tournament itself.
Men's Ballon d'Or winner - Harry Kane
Women's Ballon d'Or winner - Alexia Putellas
Men's striker of the year - Harry Kane
Women's striker of the year - Charlyn Corral
Men's club of the year - Paris St-Germain
Women's club of the year - Barcelona
Socrates Award winner - Bukayo Saka
Men's goalkeeper of the year - Unai Simón
Women's goalkeeper of the year - Cata Coll
Men's coach of the year - Luis de la Fuente
Women's coach of the year - Pere Romeu
Women's young talent of the year winner - Vicky López
Men's young talent of the year winner - Lamine Yamal
people would have thought it and maybe even myself wouldn’t have thought I’d be this far.“I had to go through many ups and downs, especially early in my career. I was never the person that people thought was going to be the superstar like some of the guys now.“I had to bide my time and work hard, a lot of times it was me against my own 
mind and I had to come through it. I had to show self-belief, determination. I think that grounded me, even when I did make it at the highest level to keep improving and keep getting better.“No matter what I achieve, how many goals I score, winning the Ballon d’Or, it's always about getting better. This is a showcase of that."
Prince William has praised Harry Kane for being a "brilliant captain and remarkable player".
He said: "Huge congratulations to Harry Kane on winning the Ballon d'Or! What a fantastic achievement and so deserved."A brilliant captain, a remarkable player and someone who has given football fans across the world so many unforgettable moments."
Kane, who thanked England, Bayern and former club Tottenham, said: "It's just the journey. For any young boy or girl who wants to achieve their dream, anything is possible."I hope my journey, it wasn't straightforward, I didn't go straight to the top, I had to experience a lot of loan moves and fight my way to get to where I am now. I hope that can give you inspiration, and thank you very much."
There was chaos just hours before the ceremony as the Ballon d'Or website published three separate articles naming Kane, Lamine Yamal and Mbappe as the winner of the 2026 men's award.Then, in a further twist, the ceremony was delayed by 45 minutes to an 8.45pm start due to the London traffic.
"Absolutely delighted. What a career he's had, what a player he is, and as a country, we haven't got enough Ballon d'Or winners."It's certainly been a long time. My former team-mate Michael Owen was the last to win it in 2001, so it's been a long wait."But in terms of Harry Kane, and I think Jude Bellingham, who's going to be a future Ballon d'Or winner, we do have two of the greatest players of their era.
"I'm delighted for Kane and the country."
On the importance of his move from Tottenham to Bayern Munich in winning the Ballon d'Or: "It's a move he needed to make.
"I thought he might be obsessed with the Premier League goalscoring record, but he's obsessed with goalscoring records, not just that one.
"But it also gives him a great chance of winning the Champions League and being involved in Ballon d'Or selections.
"There's no way Harry Kane could've won the Ballon d'Or if he was playing for Tottenham."
There was an anxious wait to find out, “it’s been horrible for you so here it is, we dun it. Yo always want the best for me, you sacrifice yourself to help me achieve my dreams and I know they’re your dreams as well. It wouldn’t be possible without you, this is trophy that we celebrate, me and you, all our close-knit team so I just want to say i love and celebrate tonight, I love you.”
“I can’t wait to see you and celebrate with you, I want to set a good example, being a father but also being a professional, what it means to work hard, what it means to believe in yourself and yeah, I love you very much.” Gosh, he’s giving out a lot of love here and it’s moving to enjoy.
Now it’s on to his parents, who’ve travelled all over watching him play without ever putting pressure on him to become a footballer – “It was always about working hard, it was always about improving, it was always about learning,”, a lesson there for us all. The traits they’ve given him have allowed him to be successful, and he loves them. Ahhh, that’s a lovely tribute, may we all cause our kids to feel that way about us.
He moves on to the Bayern suits, musing on what an honour it is to play for the club, then he talks about England, saying it wasn’t exactly what they wanted, but they had a great year, it’s an honour to captain the squad, and Thomas Tuchel also pushed him.
Now it’s on to Spurs, cue wild cheers in the auditorium. He wouldn’t be where he is today without the club, he was there from 11, living his dream, and he thanks the Spurs fans around the world. The support he gets in the ground, on social media – he appreciates it all. He used to be a fan himself and anytime he can give back he’s happy to.
Now it’s on to coaches who’ve helped him –Bradley Allen, Chris Ramsey, John McDermott, Alex Inglethopre, Ryan Mason, who’s one of his best friends, Kenny Jackett, Russell Slade, Mauricio Pochettino, Tim Sherwood, Jose Mourinho Antonio Conte, Roy Hodgson, Garethg Southgate, then Vinny and Thomas all of whom played a key role in his development and without any of them he wouldn’t be here now.
Posted on 2026/10/27 09:34 AM