Alexia Putellas wins Ballon d'Or Feminin for a third time
Alexia Putellas has won the Ballon d'Or Feminin for a third time, drawing level with Aitana Bonmati at the top of the list. The Spain midfielder's win keeps the prize in Spanish hands for a sixth year running.
The Ballon d'Or is football's best-known individual award, given to the best player of the year. This one goes to the best women's player. The winner is chosen by a vote of international journalists from countries ranked in FIFA's top 50, so the result reflects a wide view of the game. BBC Sport reported that Barcelona striker Ewa Pajor finished second, and Manchester City forward Khadija Shaw came third.
Putellas first won the award in 2021 and again in 2022. Bonmati, her Barcelona and Spain team-mate, then took it in 2023, 2024 and 2025. Between them, the two Spain players have won every award since 2021. Before that, Ada Hegerberg won in 2018 and Megan Rapinoe in 2019.
Putellas is 32, and her season was a big one. She captained Barcelona to the Champions League title as part of a quadruple, which means winning four trophies in a single season. She scored seven goals in the Women's Champions League, as Barcelona claimed their fourth continental title in six seasons. Across all competitions last season, she scored 21 goals and made 13 assists, a pass that sets up a goal.
She is not at Barcelona any more. In July she joined London City Lionesses in the Women's Super League, the top women's league in England. Her new club is now the one she plays for, and her nickname back home still sticks. Fans call her 'La Reina', which means 'the queen'.
Her career has also had setbacks. She suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury, a serious knee ligament tear, on the eve of Euro 2022. She came back to become one of the best players in the world again.
This year's shortlist was wide. There were 30 finalists nominated for the 2026 Women's Ballon d'Or, including Patri Guijarro and Temwa Chawinga. Putellas came out ahead of all of them, and of Pajor and Shaw, to take the top prize.
