Harry Kane won the men’s Ballon d’Or and Alexia Putellas claimed the women’s prize for a third time at Monday’s ceremony in London. Arsenal and England forward Bukayo Saka received the Sócrates Award for humanitarian work.
Kane finished ahead of Kylian Mbappé and Lamine Yamal, becoming the first Englishman to win the award since Michael Owen in 2001. UEFA confirmed the Bayern Munich striker’s victory at the 70th anniversary edition of the awards, held at the London Palladium.
The England captain scored 73 goals in 65 matches for club and country during the 2025/26 campaign. Bayern’s figures show that 61 came in 51 competitive appearances for the German club, earning him the Gerd Müller Trophy as the leading men’s goalscorer.
Kane helped Bayern win the Bundesliga and German Cup, while England finished third at the World Cup. He scored 14 Champions League goals as Bayern reached the semi-finals and finished as the Bundesliga’s leading scorer for a third successive season.
“It was the best season of my career without a doubt,” Kane said, in remarks published by the Football Association. He credited his Bayern and England team-mates and coaches for helping him achieve his goalscoring total.
Kane joined a group of English winners comprising Stanley Matthews, Bobby Charlton, Kevin Keegan and Owen. The move to London marked the first ceremony outside Paris and paid tribute to Matthews, who won the inaugural award in 1956.
Bayern said Kane was its first Ballon d’Or winner since Karl-Heinz Rummenigge 45 years earlier. The Bundesliga identified Borussia Dortmund’s Matthias Sammer, the 1996 winner, as the last player from Germany’s top flight to receive the award.
Putellas finished ahead of Barcelona’s Ewa Pajor and Manchester City’s Khadija Shaw. Her previous wins came in 2021 and 2022. The Spain midfielder joined London City Lionesses before the current season after helping Barcelona collect four trophies in 2025/26.
UEFA named Putellas its Women’s Champions League Player of the Season after she contributed seven goals and seven assists to Barcelona’s European title. She was also Player of the Finals during Spain’s successful 2025 Women’s Nations League campaign.
Barcelona received the women’s club award, with Pere Romeu taking the women’s coaching prize. Vicky López was recognised as women’s young talent of the year, while Cata Coll won the goalkeeper award. Mexico and Pachuca forward Charlyn Corral received the women’s striker prize.
Malawi’s Temwa Chawinga, who plays for Kansas City Current, finished tenth in the women’s Ballon d’Or rankings. Haiti’s Melchie Dumornay was fourth, behind Putellas, Pajor and Shaw.
Saka’s Sócrates Award recognises humanitarian initiatives and social work connected to football. He thanked France Football for giving him a platform to draw attention to causes important to him and spoke about helping children experience the enjoyment of playing football.
Other men’s awards went to Yamal for young talent, Athletic Club’s Unai Simón for goalkeeping and Spain coach Luis de la Fuente for coaching. Paris Saint-Germain took the men’s club award. Jude Bellingham finished 11th in the men’s rankings and Declan Rice was 15th.
Archive photograph: Harry Kane, 6 January 2025. Werner100359 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. Cropped by DvTor8303; resized for display. This does not show the Ballon d’Or ceremony.
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