Harry Kane Wins the 2026 Ballon d’Or

The Ballon d’Or was awarded to England’s Harry Kane

On the evening of 26 October, the 70th anniversary Ballon d’Or ceremony to honour the best footballer of the year took place in London. This season’s race was particularly thrilling, with as many as four or five players cited as the main contenders for the award.

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However, as the date of the ceremony drew nearer, the name of Harry Kane, the striker for Bayern Munich and the England national team, began to be mentioned more and more frequently. It was he who received the Ballon d’Or.

During the 2025/26 season, the English striker scored 73 goals for his club and the England national team, won the ‘Golden Boot’, helped Bayern Munich win the Bundesliga, the German Cup and Super Cup, and reach the semi-finals of the Champions League. With the England national team, Kane reached the semi-finals of the World Cup.

In addition to the top honour, Harry received the Gerd Müller Award as the season’s top scorer.

The top ten in the vote for the best footballer of 2026 are as follows:

1. Harry Kane (Bayern Munich, England)
2. Kylian Mbappé (Real Madrid, France)
3. Lamine Yamal (Barcelona, Spain)
4. Rodri (Manchester City / Barcelona, Spain)
5. Lionel Messi (Inter Miami, Argentina)
6. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (PSG, Georgia)
7. Ousmane Dembélé (PSG, France)
8. Erling Haaland (Manchester City, Norway)
9. Michael Olise (Bayern Munich, France)
10. Fabián Ruiz (PSG, Spain)

Alexia Putellas, midfielder for London City Lionesses and the Spanish national team, was named Women’s Footballer of the Year for the third time in her career.

Yamal — with the Kopa Trophy alone

Among the leading contenders for the Ballon d’Or was 19-year-old Spaniard Lamine Yamal of Barcelona. He emerged as one of the heroes of the evening, winning the Kopa Trophy – the award for the best young footballer of the year – for the third consecutive time. The Spaniard became the only player to have won this prize three times.

The award for best goalkeeper went to Unai Simón, goalkeeper for the world champions, the Spanish national team.

The prize for Coach of the Year went to Luis de la Fuente, who led the Spanish national team to victory at the World Cup.

PSG were named Men’s Club of the Year, having won the Champions League and the French league for the second season running.

Among the women’s clubs, Barcelona came out on top, whilst Pere Romeu, who manages the Catalan side, was named best women’s team manager.

This story was translated with the assistance of artificial intelligence.The translation was also reviewed by the Logos Press editorial team.

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