International football
Harry Kane wins the 2026 Ballon d'Or, the first Englishman since Michael Owen in 2001; Mbappé second, Yamal third
The Bayern and England striker was named winner of the 70th Ballon d'Or in London, while Alexia Putellas won the women's award for the third time.
By ANN Newsroom · Newsroom
October 26, 2026, 23:50 · Updated 18:41 · 2 min read
In brief
- Harry Kane, 33, was named winner of the Ballon d'Or at the ceremony held at the London Palladium.
- He was followed by Kylian Mbappé, Lamine Yamal, Rodri and Lionel Messi.
- Yamal won the Kopa Trophy, Unai Simón the Yashin Trophy, and PSG was named club of the year.
Harry Kane is the winner of the 2026 Ballon d'Or. The 33-year-old Bayern Munich and England striker was honored on Monday evening in London, at the 70th edition of football's most prestigious individual award, and became the first Englishman to win it since Michael Owen in 2001.
According to the ranking published by ATSH, citing Reuters, Kane finished ahead of Kylian Mbappé and Lamine Yamal, with Rodri and Lionel Messi fourth and fifth. In the 2025–26 season he scored 61 goals in 51 matches for Bayern, with whom he won the Bundesliga and the German Cup, while at the 2026 World Cup he scored six goals and took England to the semifinals.
The other trophies
In the women's category, Spain's Alexia Putellas of Barcelona won the Ballon d'Or for the third time. Lamine Yamal took the Kopa Trophy for the best young player, while the women's award went to Vicky López. Spanish goalkeeper Unai Simón won the Yashin Trophy, Cata Coll was honored as the best women's goalkeeper, and Kane himself also took the Gerd Müller Trophy for the best striker.
Spain coach Luis de la Fuente was named coach of the year, PSG best men's club and Barcelona best women's club. The Sócrates Award for humanitarian work went to Arsenal's Bukayo Saka. The start of the ceremony, held at the London Palladium, was delayed by traffic in the British capital.
The winner's words
“I'm speechless. Being here is something special, I'm very proud,” Kane said, according to BalkanWeb. He thanked Bayern and coach Vincent Kompany, as well as his former coaches, including Antonio Conte and José Mourinho, adding that receiving the trophy in London was special for him: “This is without question the best season of my career.”
