Harry Kane, Alexia Putellas Makes History with 2026 Ballon d'Or Award Wins

For years, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo dominated the Ballon d'Or Award, winning 13 of them between 2008-23 (eight for Messi, five for Ronaldo). But parity has descended upon the award.

For the third straight year—and fourth time in the past five years—a first-time winner has claimed the prestigious distinction, with Bayern Munich's Harry Kane winning the 2026 Ballon d'Or over players like Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappé and Barcelona's Lamine Yamal.

Mbappé was the runner-up for the award.

There has been far less parity on the women's side.

For the third time in her career, Alexia Putellas was named the Ballon d'Or Féminin winner, tying her with Aitana Bonmatí for the most in women's history.

Kane, 33, had 73 goals for Bayern Munich and England across the 2025-26 season. It was his third straight season topping the Bundesliga in goals (36), helping lead Bayern Munich to a second straight league title, a domestic double and a berth in the Champions League semifinals.

At the World Cup he scored six goals, tied for fifth, and helped lead England to a third-place finish.

Kane has long been one of the his generation's truly elite strikers, and adding a Ballon d'Or to his career achievements further cements his status as one of the better players to ever play his position.

Mbappé, 27, was absolutely brilliant during this summer's World Cup, scoring 10 goals for France to lead all players. He became the all-time leading goalscorer (22 goals) at the event in the process.

France was eliminated in the semifinals and lost the third-place game to England, however, a disappointing end to the tournament.

Mbappé's club season was ultimately a disappointment as well, as Real Madrid failed to secure any trophies. The French forward did his part, however, scoring 42 goals across 44 appearances in all competitions.

Mbappé is undoubtedly one of the premier talents, and biggest names, in the entire sport. A Ballon d'Or Award feels inevitable at some point in his career.

As for Putellas, she last won the award in 2022 before Bonmatí claimed it three years in a row. It wasn't much of a surprise that she ended Bonmatí's reign, however.

The 32-year-old superstar led Barcelona to a quadruple last season, which included the club's seventh straight Liga F title and a third Champions League conquest in the past four seasons. She had nine goals and seven assists in Liga F play last season and added eight goals and six assists in the Champions League.

She also remains a pivotal figure for the Spain national team, the top-ranked side in FIFA's world rankings.

Manchester City's Khadija Shaw made a strong case of her own, scoring 21 league goals as the Citizens won the double by winning both the Premier League and FA Cup. So did Barcelona midfielder Patri Guijarro, who like Putellas won just about everything there was to win last season.

But ultimately, the legend of Putellas continued to grow on Monday.