Ballon d’Or winners have been announced and this is everything that you need to know
What is it exactly that made the 2025/26 season so successful for the award winners? In this article we will do a deep dive on the journeys of the winners of this year's Ballon d’Or.
Harry Kane becomes the first English man in 25 years to win the Ballon d’Or
Harry Kane, the number 9 for FC Bayern Munich, had an extremely successful 2025-26 season for both his club and country but what exactly did he do to win the Ballon d’Or?
Harry Kane’s goal tally for Bayern Munich in the 25-26 season was extremely impressive - 61 goals in 51 matches. This is no small feat as Kane was top goal scorer in Europe's top five leagues (English Premier League, Italian Serie A, Spanish La Liga, German Bundesliga and French Ligue 1) far above 2nd place Kylian Mbappé who scored 42 goals for Real Madrid in the La Liga.
While Kane’s personal achievement was outstanding, the trophies that he won with Bayern Munich really made him stand out. He concluded the 2025/26 season with 3 trophies - Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal and Franz Beckenbauer Supercup - and having reached the Champions League semi-final.
At the end of a long season, and under immense pressure to win, Harry Kane captained England to the 2026 World Cup. England made it most of the way to the end of the tournament before being knocked out by a 2-1 loss to Argentina in the semi-finals. Despite this loss, England went into the third place playoffs on a mission to win. Facing France, England won 6-4 claiming 3rd Place in the 2026 World Cup.
Harry Kane has proved himself as an outstanding player in the 2025/26 season and this has been further reinforced with the title of 2026 Ballon d’Or.
During the 2025/26 season, Harry Kane was the top scorer over the world hence was awarded the Men’s Gerd Müller Trophy for best striker. This means that Harry Kane was awarded with two trophies last night placing him right at the top of the game.
Alexia Putellas - the iconic footballer becomes a 3-time Women’s Ballon d’Or winner
Alexia Putellas is a legendary name in women’s football, not only because of her exceptional skill and talent but also her drive for equality between men’s and women’s football. She has won many individual, club and country awards but what made the 2025-26 season end with that title of Women’s Ballon d’Or for Putellas?
Putellas, as captain, led Barcelona out to an extremely successful season, which eventually ended with four trophies - Champion’s League, Liga F, Copas de la Reina and the Spanish Super Cup. Playing as a midfielder, Putellas scored 24 goals and got 13 assists for Barcelona in 2025/26 rounding off a legendary Barcelona career with 508 appearances and 232 goals. On a personal level, Alexia Putellas was named as the Women’s Champions League player of the season reflecting her undeniable talent.
For Spain, Putellas was a part of the team that won the Nation’s League. In the first game against Sweden, Putellas scored a brace and then another goal in the second leg of this game (5-0 on aggregate). This meant Spain moved through the competition to the finals against Germany. Putellas played in the final and despite not scoring any goals, Spain went on to win 3-0 on aggregate. However Putellas’ success for Spain does not end here as she helped secure automatic qualification for the 2027 Women’s World Cup. Spain lost only one game during qualification (1-0 loss to England) and Alexia Putellas scored two goals which helped them achieve this meaning that Spain are on track to potentially keep their title of Women’s World Cup Winners.
Off the pitch, Putellas fights for equality between men and women in football. In her award acceptance speech, Putellas sends a message to all boys and girls wanting to play football - “it doesn’t matter if you are a boy or a girl.” Alexia Putellas is a role-model to little girls all over the world and this Ballon d’Or is a true reflection of her work on and off the pitch.
Vicky López - Barcelona’s 20 year old star wins women’s Kopa Trophy twice in a row
Born in Madrid, Vicky López began her professional career at Spanish club Madrid CFF before making her move to Barcelona in 2022, who she currently plays for. The 20 year old plays a crucial part as an attacking midfielder and winger for both Barça and the Spanish national team, and has won 19 major team trophies and 4 individual awards including the UEFA Women’s Champions League multiple times, the Nations League with Spain in 2024 and the Kopa Trophy in 2025. But what made the 2025-2026 season a standout season for López?
For both club and country last season, López won five trophies and scored 17 goals and 15 assists in 53 appearances. At the club, she was part of the Barcelona team that won the quadruple: Women’s Champions League, Liga F, Copa de la Reina and the Spanish Super Cup. She is remembered for scoring in the game against Réal Madrid, where Barcelona won 6-2 away from home and 12-2 on aggregate following their home leg.
For Spain, López helped her national team win the UEFA Nations League in 2025. Starting the second leg of the final replacing Aitana Bonmati, she scored in the second half at the Estadio Metropolitano in Madrid to help the team beat Germany 3-0.
Vicky’s contributions to both her club and national team helped her to beat fellow nominees: Clara Sarajordi, Veerle Buurman, Lily Yohannes and Felicia Schoder to win the Kopa Trophy for the second time, helping her establish her name as one of the greatest young sensations of the 21st century.
Lamine Yamal – Barcelona’s teenage sensation wins the Kopa Trophy for the third year running
Born in Esplugues de Llobregat, near Barcelona, Lamine Yamal began his football journey in Barcelona’s famous La Masia academy before making his first-team debut in April 2023, aged just 15. Now 19, the Spanish winger has established himself as one of the world’s most exciting young footballers, playing a crucial role for both Barcelona and the Spanish national team. His achievements include three La Liga titles, two Spanish Super Cups, the European Championship with Spain in 2024 and two consecutive Kopa Trophies in 2024 and 2025. But what made the 2025–2026 season another phenomenal campaign for Yamal?
During the 2025–2026 season, Yamal scored 24 goals for Barcelona across all competitions. He helped the club secure both the La Liga title and the Spanish Super Cup. His performances earned him the La Liga Player of the Season award, recognising his outstanding contribution to Barcelona’s domestic campaign.
For Spain, Yamal was part of the Spanish team that won the 2026 World Cup in America, the second time in the team’s history, scoring against teams such as Saudi Arabia, where Spain defeated them 4-0. Yamal is currently the youngest player to have won both the Euros (won in 2024 following the victory against England) and the World Cup.
Yamal’s contributions to both club and country had already helped him make history at the 2025 Ballon d’Or ceremony, where he became the first footballer ever to win the Kopa Trophy in consecutive years. Now, he has won the trophy a third time and stated in his speech following winning the award that he believes the award should have been given to teammate Pau Cubarsi. The award recognises the world’s best male footballer under the age of 21, and his victories underline his remarkable achievements at such a young age.
Spanish World Cup winner Unai Simon claims the men’s Yashin Trophy for best goalkeeper of the season
Unai Simon is a goalkeeper for La Liga side Athletic Club and the Spanish national team. Despite not winning any trophies with his club, his performance for his country proved Simon to be a worthy winner of the Yashin Trophy.
In the 2025/26 season Simon started in 46 games and achieved eight clean sheets, which ultimately led to Athletic Club reaching two semi finals - the Copa del Ray and the Supercopa de Espana. They lost both games but reaching the semi-finals in a top league is very impressive.
However, Simon's incredible skills were mostly shown in the 2026 World Cup. He started in all 8 world cup games for Spain and kept seven clean sheets only letting in one goal against Belgium. Spain also went unbeaten in the World Cup with Simon in goal, showing his talent in goal. In the World Cup final against Argentina, Simon kept a clean sheet even through extra time playing a vital part in Spain’s tournament. With a goal from Ferran Torres in the 106th minute, Spain went on to lift the World Cup trophy for the second time in history.
Simon has proved himself as a top-tier goalkeeper this season and the Yashin Trophy only further proves this.
Quadruple-winning FC Barcelona Goalkeeper wins the Women’s Yashin Trophy
FC Barcelona’s first choice goalkeeper, Cata Coll, has won the Yashin Trophy for the goalkeeper of the season that recognises her as a top goalkeeper in women’s football. Coll plays for FC Barcelona and the Spain national team, both of which had a very successful season but how did this lead to Cata Coll receiving this great honour?
FC Barcelona won four trophies over the 2025/26 season - Liga F, Copa de la Reina, UEFA Champions League and the Spanish Super Cup - with Coll in goal. Coll played in 32 games for Barcelona last season in which she only conceded 16 goals, showing her consistency in goal even at the highest level. Having joined Barcelona in 2019, Coll has certainly proved herself as a top goalkeeper for a top club.
Coll is also a goalkeeper for the Spanish national team, where she has helped the team secure automatic qualification for the 2027 Women’s World Cup. During qualification, Coll appeared in three games in which she only let in two goals. This means that Spain don’t have to go through further rounds of qualification and can instead focus on preparing for the major tournament in Brazil 2027. In the Nations League, Coll played in all four games and kept a clean sheet in each which is no small achievement.
Lues De La Fuente, Spanish national coach has received the men’s Cruyff trophy after a fantastic tournament
Lues De La Fuente went into the 2026 World Cup on a mission to win. He named his squad for the tournament that contained amazing players including David Raya, Lamine Yamal and Eric Garcia. The tournament was incredibly successful for Spain as they were the team to lift the World Cup Trophy but what did the tournament look like for Spain and how did Fuente lead his team to victory?
Spain’s first game of the tournament was against Cape Verde which resulted in a 0-0 draw, which was the worst result for them throughout the tournament. Fuente’s team got through the tournament having conceded only one goal, reflecting Fuente’s incredible coaching skills. In the final of the World Cup, a sub made in the 62nd minute of the game scored the winning goal which shows Fuente’s ability to make decisions that benefit the team.
Fuente's leadership through a World Cup led to Spain winning one of the highest honours in football, proving Lues De La Fuente the worthy winner of this award.
Coach of Women’s Club of the year FC Barcelona, Pere Romeu, has been recognised with the Women’s Cruyff Trophy
In his second year at FC Barcelona, Pere Romeu coached his players to an undeniably successful season and made signings for the growth of the team. His leadership led to himself getting the Cruyff Trophy for team of the year and his team being awarded with women’s club of the year. As previously mentioned, Barcelona had a quadruple winning season which gained them women’s club of the year, but what specifically did Romeu do to get the award of women’s coach of the year?
Before the 2025/26 Romeu transferred players such as Luciá Corrales, Jana Fernández and Fridolina Rolfö. He also made some signings and loan returns including Giulia Dragoni and Laia Aleixandri. It could be viewed as a difficult transfer window however Romeu didn’t let this knock his or his team’s confidence. This team was very successful winning four trophies over the season and now being awarded with women’s club of the year.
Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka wins the Socrates Award as recognition for his humanitarian work
The England international and Arsenal star had a very successful 2025-26 season on the pitch, winning the Premier League, coming third place in the 2026 World Cup and reaching the final of the UEFA Champions League. However, his humanitarian work off of the pitch is what won him this award.
With the BigShoe charity, Saka has assisted in the funding of over 100 surgeries for children in Nigeria. This contribution was greatly appreciated by the community in Nigeria. Furthermore, Saka has helped renovate facilities for a community in Rwanda such as clean drinking water and improved girls toilets. His great work for the community does not end here as he has contributed to other charity schemes such as providing houses to families in need after an earthquake in Morocco as well as another scheme providing eye care for children in Ghana, Nigeria and Rwanda.
Bukayo Saka has also shown resilience through fighting against racism. He has used social media as a place to talk about the hatred he and fellow England teammates faced after the Euro final 2020. Saka’s bravery to speak up about what is right shows his undeniable courage and kindness making him the deserving winner of the 2026 Socrates Award.
Mexican striker Charlyn Corral claims the women’s Gerd Muller trophy for the best striker of the 25/26 season
Charlyn Corral is a striker for Mexican liga MC Femenil side Pachuca and the Mexico national team despite playing outside of Europe top leagues incredible goal, scoring ability proved Corral to be a worthy winner of the Gerd Muller trophy in the 2025/26 season she scored 42 goals in 41 games as well as scoring 11 goals for her country this gave her total of 53 goals across club and international Football showing her incredible ability in front of the goal. She also won the Liga Mx Femenil Golden Boot and helped Pachuca win the clausura 2025 league title proving her importance to the team however corrals incredible goal scoring record was what ultimately made her stand out from other strikers around the world at 35 year-old she continued to perform at the highest level and become the first Mexican footballer to win an award at the Ballon d’Or ceremony her performance for both club and country showed her consistency throughout the season.
Paris Saint-Germain claim the men’s club of the year award:
PSG are a football club based in Paris France and complete in league one the top division of French football under the manager Luis Enrique PSG have established herself as one of the strongest teams in Europe and then incredible success over the 2025/26 season proved them to be webby winners of the men’s club of the award in the 2025/26 season PSG continued their wins in the French football by winning league one and the Trophee des champions they also won the UEFA Champions League for the second consecutive season beating Arsenal two won in the final. These achievements show the quality of the team and their ability against the best club in Europe. However PSG success was not limited to domestic competitions, they also won the intercontinental cup at the UEFA super cup competing and an impressive collection of trophies. Their success across multiple competitions demonstrated the strength of their squad with their players. Winning so many trophies in one season showed just how much PSG had worked together as a strong team. PSG had proved themselves as one of the best teams in one football this season and the men’s club are the season.
Article written by Mollie H, Annette W, and Nailah Gajia
