> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://bullquill.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Harry Kane wins Ballon d'Or, first English winner since 2001 - URL: https://bullquill.com/harry-kane-wins-ballon-dor-putellas/ - Published: 2026-10-27T00:03:33.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-27T00:26:29.000Z - Description: The Bayern Munich striker finished ahead of Kylian Mbappé and Lamine Yamal at the London ceremony, ending a 25-year wait since Michael Owen. Spain's Putellas won the Ballon d'Or Féminin for the first time since 2022. - Author: Rowan Ashby - Tags: World, Breaking, Trending, Harry Kane, Ballon d'Or, Alexia Putellas, Bayern Munich, Kylian Mbappé, #lang-en, #tr-harry-kane-wins-ballon-dor-putellas ## Key takeaways - Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane was named the 2026 Ballon d'Or winner on 26 October in London, finishing ahead of Kylian Mbappé and Lamine Yamal. - He is England's first winner since Michael Owen in 2001, a gap of 25 years. - Alexia Putellas of Spain won the Ballon d'Or Féminin for a third time, her first since 2022. - Kane also took the men's striker award after 61 goals in 51 games for Bayern in 2025-26. - Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona were named clubs of the year; Bukayo Saka received the Socrates Award. Harry Kane won the Ballon d'Or on Monday, 26 October 2026, in London, becoming the first Englishman to win football's most famous individual prize since Michael Owen in 2001\. Spain's Alexia Putellas won the women's Ballon d'Or for a third time. ## Harry Kane wins the Ballon d'Or: what happened The 70th edition of the awards was staged at the London Palladium instead of Paris, a choice ESPN linked to the 70th anniversary of Stanley Matthews winning the first Ballon d'Or in 1956\. The winners were announced on the evening of 26 October, London time, and Al Jazeera's report was online by about 23:25 UTC. Kane, 33, finished first in the men's ranking. According to ESPN's full results, Kylian Mbappé was second and Barcelona's Lamine Yamal third, with Rodri and Lionel Messi completing the top five. "Wow, wow, wow. First of all, wow, I'm almost speechless," Kane said on stage, according to NBC Sports. He added that the vote had been "real tough this year" given the quality of the other contenders, and called 2025-26 "my best season for sure." ### Ballon d'Or 2026 men's ranking (top 10) | Rank | Player | | ---- | --------------------- | | 1 | Harry Kane | | 2 | Kylian Mbappé | | 3 | Lamine Yamal | | 4 | Rodri | | 5 | Lionel Messi | | 6 | Khvicha Kvaratskhelia | | 7 | Ousmane Dembélé | | 8 | Erling Haaland | | 9 | Michael Olise | | 10 | Fabián Ruiz | Source: ESPN full results, published 26 October 2026. ## Why Kane won: the record season Kane's case rested on volume and trophies. Al Jazeera and beIN Sports both report that he scored 61 goals in 51 appearances for Bayern across all competitions in 2025-26\. According to beIN Sports, 36 of those came in the Bundesliga, earning him a second European Golden Shoe, and Bayern won the Bundesliga, the DFB-Pokal and the DFL-Supercup. He then scored six goals at the 2026 World Cup and led England to the semi-finals, Al Jazeera reported, taking his total for club and country to 73 goals for the campaign. The one gap, according to beIN Sports, was the Champions League, where Bayern fell short. The prize caps a long wait for team honours. Kane left Tottenham Hotspur for Bayern in 2023 without a major trophy and has since become a serial winner in Germany. Readers following his club can see our coverage of [Bayern's Bundesliga title race](https://bullquill.com/freiburg-vs-bayern-bundesliga-standings/), the [Bayern vs Arsenal Champions League clash](https://bullquill.com/bayern-munich-arsenal-champions-league-clash/) and [coach Vincent Kompany's health scare](https://bullquill.com/vincent-kompany-hospitalized-bayern-training/). ## Alexia Putellas wins third women's Ballon d'Or In the women's ranking, Putellas finished ahead of Ewa Pajor and Khadija Shaw, with Melchie Dumornay fourth and Patri Guijarro fifth, according to ESPN. NBC Sports noted it was her third Ballon d'Or Féminin and her first in four years, after back-to-back wins in 2021 and 2022\. Her return to the top ends the run of her Spain and Barcelona team-mate Aitana Bonmatí, who had won the previous three awards. The award covers the 2025-26 season, which Putellas played at Barcelona. Al Jazeera reports the club won a treble plus the Spanish Super Cup. She left in the summer after 14 years at the club, and AP reported in July that she had signed for London City Lionesses in England's Women's Super League. Michael Owen, the last English men's winner, presented the women's prize on the night, NBC Sports reported. ## Full list of other Ballon d'Or 2026 winners | Award | Winner | | ------------------------------------ | ---------------------------- | | Men's striker (Gerd Müller Trophy) | Harry Kane (Bayern Munich) | | Women's striker (Gerd Müller Trophy) | Charlyn Corral (Pachuca) | | Men's young talent | Lamine Yamal (Barcelona) | | Women's young talent | Vicky López (Barcelona) | | Men's coach | Luis de la Fuente (Spain) | | Women's coach | Pere Romeu (Barcelona) | | Men's goalkeeper | Unai Simón (Athletic Bilbao) | | Women's goalkeeper | Cata Coll (Barcelona) | | Socrates Award | Bukayo Saka (Arsenal) | | Men's club of the year | Paris Saint-Germain | | Women's club of the year | Barcelona | Source: ESPN and NBC Sports results lists, 26 October 2026. ## What we know and what we don't know yet - **Confirmed:** the winners and top-10 men's ranking above, the venue and date, and Kane's 61-goal Bayern season, reported by several outlets. - **Not yet published in the sources we checked:** the full points totals and the margin between Kane and Mbappé, and a detailed breakdown of the jury vote. - **Still to come:** reaction from Bayern Munich and the Football Association, and Putellas's own comments on the award. ## Background: England's Ballon d'Or history Kane is the fifth English winner, after Stanley Matthews (1956), Bobby Charlton (1966), Kevin Keegan (1978 and 1979) and Michael Owen (2001), as ESPN and Al Jazeera both note. Since Owen, the award has been dominated by players at Spanish, Italian and French clubs, especially Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. ## What it means For Kane, the award settles a long-running debate over whether a prolific scorer without a Champions League title could be named the world's best player. Voters rewarded a season of 73 goals for club and country and three domestic trophies over Mbappé's and Yamal's campaigns. For English football, the 25-year gap is over in the same year London hosted the ceremony. For the women's game, Putellas's third title puts her level with the most decorated players in the award's short history, and her move to London City Lionesses brings a three-time winner into the Women's Super League. ## Frequently asked questions ### Who won the Ballon d'Or 2026? Harry Kane of Bayern Munich and England won the men's Ballon d'Or on 26 October 2026, ahead of Kylian Mbappé in second and Lamine Yamal in third. Alexia Putellas won the women's award. ### When did an English player last win the Ballon d'Or? Before Kane, the last English winner was Michael Owen in 2001\. Kane joins Stanley Matthews, Bobby Charlton, Kevin Keegan and Owen as English winners. ### How many Ballon d'Or awards has Alexia Putellas won? Three. The 2026 Ballon d'Or Féminin is her third and her first in four years, according to ESPN and NBC Sports. ### Where was the 2026 Ballon d'Or ceremony held? The 70th Ballon d'Or ceremony was held at the London Palladium in London on 26 October 2026, rather than in Paris.