Ballon d’Or 2026: Winners, rankings, final awards results as Harry Kane wins over Lamine Yamal and Kylian Mbappe originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.JUMP TO:AdvertisementPALLADIUM THEATRE, LONDON — After a whole year of goals, trophies, speculation, and celebration, the time to learn the winner of the 2026 Ballon d’Or finally arrived.On Monday evening, France Football revealed the winner at the award gala, which has been won by four different players in each of the last four years.It became five in five, as Harry Kane was named the men’s winner, alongside a three-peat for Alexia Putellas on the women’s side.For the first time, the ceremony was held outside France, as they honored the first winner of the Ballon d’Or, Stanley Matthews, by holding the 70th trophy presentation at the Palladium Theatre in London, England. It was fitting, as Kane was named the first Englishman to win since Michael Owen in 2001.AdvertisementHosted by Kate Scott and Thierry Henry, this year’s ceremony revealed the 2026 Ballon d’Or winner for the men’s and women’s side, as well as a host of other awards including best coach, best goalkeeper, best young player, and best club.MORE:The chaos you missed at Ballon d’Or 2026 ceremonyBallon d’Or 2026 results from trophy ceremonyFinal Men’s Ballon d’Or rankings 2026RankPlayerNationalityClubWINNERHarry KaneEnglandBayern Munich2.Kylian MbappeFranceReal Madrid3.Lamine YamalSpainBarcelona4.RodriSpainMan City/Barcelona5.Lionel MessiArgentinaInter Miami6.Khvicha KvaratskheliaGeorgiaParis Saint-Germain7.Ousmane DembeleFranceParis Saint-Germain8.Erling HaalandNorwayMan City9.Michael OliseFranceBayern Munich10.Fabian RuizSpainParis Saint-Germain11.Jude BellinghamEnglandReal Madrid12.Pau CubarsiSpainBarcelona13.Achraf HakimiMoroccoPSG14.VitinhaPortugalPSG15.Declan RiceEnglandArsenal16.Ferran TorresSpainBarcelona/PSG17.Vinicius Jr.BrazilReal Madrid18.Marc CucurellaSpainChelsea/Real Madrid19.Joao NevesPortugalParis Saint-Germain20.Willian PachoEcuadorParis Saint-Germain21.GabrielBrazilArsenal22.Lautaro MartinezArgentinaInter Milan23.Nuno MendesPortugalParis Saint-Germain24.Luis DiasColombiaBayern Munich25.MarquinhosBrazilParis Saint-Germain26.Dayot UpamecanoFranceBayern Munich27.Bruno FernandesPortugalManchester United28Julian QuinonesMexicoAl-Qadsiah29.William SalibaFranceArsenal=Sadio ManeSenegalAl NassrOther Men’s awardsKopa Trophy: Lamine Yamal (Barcelona and Spain)Men’s Coach of the Year: Luis de la Fuente (Spain)Yashin Trophy: Unai Simon (Athletic Bilbao and Spain)Men’s Club of the Year: Paris Saint-GermainGerd Muller Award: Harry Kane (Bayern Munich and England)Final Ballon d’Or Feminin rankings 2026RankPlayerNationalityClubWINNERAlexia PutellasSpainBarcelona/ London City Lionesses2.Ewa PajorPolandBarcelona3.Khadija ShawJamaicaManchester City4.Melchie DumornayHaitiLyon5.Patri GuijarroSpainBarcelona6.Caroline Graham HansenNorwayBarcelona7.Pernille HarderDenmarkBayern Munich8.Claudia PinaSpainBarcelona9.Alessia RussoEnglandArsenal10.Temwa ChawingaMalawiKansas City Current11.Yui HasagawaJapanManchester City12.Klara BuhlGermanyBayern Munich13.Mariona CaldenteySpainArsenal14.Wendie RenardFranceLyon15.Cata CollSpainBarcelona16.Mapi LeonSpainBarcelona/London City Lionesses17.Esmee BrugtsNetherlandsBarcelona18.Barbra BandaZambiaOrlando Pride19.Tessa WullaertBelgiumInter Milan/Como20.Selma BachaFranceLyon21.Scarlett CamberosMexicoClub America22.Manaka MatsukuboJapanNorthern Carolina Courage/Chelsea23.Momoki TanikawaJapanBayern Munich24.Kerstin CasparijNetherlandsManchester City25.Caroline WierScotlandReal Madrid/Lyon26.Alex GreenwoodEnglandManchester City27.Rose LavelleU.S.AGotham FC28LorenaBrazilKansas City Current=Vivianne MiedemaNetherlandsManchester City=Melvine MalardFranceManchester United/ChelseaOther Women’s awardsKopa Trophy: Vicky Lopez (Barcelona and Spain)Women’s Coach of the Year: Pere Romeu (Barcelona)Yashin Trophy: Cata Coll (Barcelona and Spain)Women’s Club of the Year: BarcelonaGerd Muller Trophy: Charlyn Corral (Pachuca)Other awardsSocrates Award: Bukayo Saka (Big Shoe charity)Recap the Ballon d’Or trophy ceremony with commentary, highlightsAll times ET.7:04 p.m. — That’s a wrap from the Palladium. I’m off to hear a few more words from the winners. Keep an eye on The Sporting News for that and all your other Ballon d’Or needs. And thank you for being with us tonight. Chapeau to Alexia Putellas and Harry Kane.Advertisement7:02 p.m. — An ovation for your Ballon d’Or 2026, Harry Kane. A truly worthy and very popular winner of this prize, 70 years on from his compatriot Stanlety Matthews. This award has felt like an increasingly self-absorbed circus over recent years, but that was a wonderful, human moment from Kane. Beautiful to witness.6:59 p.m. — This has been really lovely from Kane, taking his time to thank coaches from early on and throughout his career. Now thanking his parents, “Who never put pressure on me to be a footballer; you just wanted me to do my best and always learn.” He sounds a little choaked.6:53 p.m. — Shouts for Bayern Munich teammate Dayot Upamecano and head coach Vincent Kompany from Kane among others.Being here in London has made it extra special. It felt like a good omen for me. Thank you to everyone who voted for me; I was up against some world-class players. Thanks to my Bayern Munich teammates; without you guys, it wouldn’t be possible – the way you guys push me, the way we compete, me against Upa [Dayot Upamecano] in training every week. Vinny, I know you’re sill in the hospital so hopefully this gives you a bit of energy.It was truly an honor to captain England, to lead you. This one is for all of you, for sure. It’s an honour to represent the England badge. I want to say thank you to Tottenham Hotspur as well. I wouldn’t be where I am today without Tottenham, for sure.6:50 p.m. — THE WINNER OF THE 2026 MEN’S BALLON D’OR IS HARRY KANE! Everyone on their feet around me, lots chanting “Harry!”. A wonderful moment for an accidental superstar whose career has been a delight. Kane becomes the fifth English winner after Stanley Matthews, Bobby Charlton, Kevin Keegan and Michael Owen.Advertisement6:48 p.m. — More cheers for Kane as we run through the contenders. It’ll bring the house down if he gets it done. Mind you, there’s a big response for Mbappe too.6:43 p.m. — Standing ovation for the great Brazilian Ronaldo, who is here to present the award he won twice: the men’s Ballon d’Or.6:39 p.m. — “If you have a dream, even if you have to start from zero, go for it,” Putellas says, addressing all the children in the world who play football. “And, most importantly, do it with love and passion.” Can’t say fairer than that.6:33 p.m. — ALEXIA PUTELLAS WINS THE BALLON D’OR FEMININ! It’s her third award and crowns one of the game’s great careers. Putellas’ first two successes came prior to the agony of an ACL injury. A truly special achievement from an incredible player.Alexia Putellas Spain 0716256:29 p.m. — It seems like we’re going to find out the winner of the main awards, and then get told the top 10 rankings. Which is a weird way around to do things.Advertisement6:24 p.m. — Michael Owen, the last Englishman to win the Ballon d’Or is on the stage. He took the top prize in 2001, when they didn’t even have a ceremony. He just got a phone call from his Liverpool manager Gerard Houllier to break the good news. I wonder if Houllier did it via the medium of piano mime?6:21 p.m. — Ah, here are the two trophies. Not sure we needed the piano fraudster and cables guy to get to this point, but I’m no artistic director.6:20 p.m. — Hang on, they’ve cleared the piano away and the music is still going. He was miming! BOOOOOO. Floating broski is still here. Thanks for that, lads.6:18 p.m. — Some artsy piano carry on now. Along with a man standing on the piano. That’s no way to treat such a fine instrument, sir. Oh, he’s floating off now, attached to strings or something. This is all really adding to the occasion.Advertisement6:15 p.m — The winners are Charlyn Corral of Pachuca and a certain Harry Kane. “Two awards tonight, Harry…” hollars one man up here in the circle. We’ll find out soon enough. There’s a huge ovation for the England captain as he takes to the microphone.Harry Kane BayernGetty Images6:12 p.m. — We’ve just had a warmly received in-memorium segment, paying tribute to Kevin Keegan, Jayden Adams and Frank Baresi. Now it’s the Gerd Muller trophies, which will be presented by Alan Shearer and actress Sophie Turner. Name a more iconic duo.6:01 p.m. — Men’s club of the year. Paris Saint-Germain. Who are not from Spain! Although their head coach and genius mastermind Luis Enrique is. We’re keeping the theme going. Ousmane Dembele is here to collect the gong, underlining the fact that no one needed to hear from Joan Laporta just now.Advertisement5:53 p.m. —Joan’s still going, thanks UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin. Then a bit in Catalan. Now Henry asks him about winning the Women’s Champions League back and he responds by talking about the men’s final in 2009. I think we’re done here, big man.5:51 p.m. — After some 2004 dressing room craic reheated to lukewarm, we’re onto the main business. FC Barcelona are Women’s Club of the Year because of course they are. Joan Laporta is here for a chat.5:47 p.m. — Club of the Year is up next. Patrick Vieira and Sol Campbell are up on stage with their only teammate, Henry, to do the honours. We’ll have some Arsenal Invincibles chat first.Advertisement5:43 p.m. — Burna Boy gets a lovely introduction from Kate Scott as a “Grammy award winner and the king of Afro-fusion”. He’s here to present the Socrates Award, which recognises humanitarian work in football. It goes to Arsenal and England winger Bukayo Saka, in recognition of his work for the Big Shoe charity.5:32 p.m. — Oh, we’re doing both at once. Women’s Yashin Trophy winner is Cata Coll, with Unai Simon taking the men’s prize. That’s six out of six awards going to Spain. Coll makes if four of those six to Barcelona.5:28 p.m. —We’re now watching a video of former winners. In the auditorium, there are far bigger cheers for Lionel Messi than for Cristiano Ronaldo if we’re still doing all that. Former Ballon d’Or winner Michael Owen says it’s the hardest trophy in football to win. I guess he would say that. Anyway, Peter Schmeichel is here to present the Yashin Trophy. Nice to see a Manchester United player from the 1990s not moaning about Manchester Untied on a podcast.5:20 p.m. — Spain boss Luis de la Fuente is the winner. That’s a popular choice in the hall, and who can argue after following Euro 2024 with World Cup glory.Getty ImagesAdvertisement5:13 p.m. — Rafa’s pulling double duty for the Men’s Coach of the Year award. Cheers from some of the locals for Mikel Arteta when the nominees are laid out. Thierry Henry wishes “get well soon” to Vincent Kompany. The Bayern Munich boss is among the nominees but can’t be here after being taken ill last week. We’ll find out the winner…after the break!5:09 p.m. — Barcelona boss Pere Romeu gets it. That’s three awards out of three going back to Catalonia. At least he also didn’t will it last year, so we’re mixing things up a little bit.5:06 p.m. — Here’s Rafael Benitez to present the Women’s Coach of the Year award once he’s finished spinning a yarn about the 2005 Champions League final.5 p.m. — Women’s Young Talemt of the Year is next and Vicky Lopez makes it a clean sweep for Barcelona in this category. Like Lamine, she retains the trophy she won last year.Advertisement4:55 p.m. — And the winner is… Lamine Yamal. The 19-year-old Barcelona star scoops this prize for the third year in succession. Former Ukraine and AC Milan great Andriy Shevchenko hands over the gong. Will he bookend the evening by grabbing the main prize a couple of hours from now. “Is it the one you really wanted tonight?” quips Henry. Oh, Thierry, you rascal.Getty Images4:51 p.m. — Kate Scott and Thierry Henry are here on presenting duties. Kate says this is the “closest race in years” for the men’s Ballon d’Or. Hmmm, will we see that in the voting late? Anyway, it”s Men’s Young Talent of the Year first up. Yann Diomande, Lamine Yamal and Warren Zaire-Emery all in the mix.Advertisement4:45 p.m. — Okay, house lights down in the Palladium, we’re finally ready to go. English singer-songwriter Jorja Smith getting us underway.4:27 p.m. — Turns out the delay was Barcelona, whos delegation has just arrived. Lamine Yamal has a very eye-catching, sort of exploding novelty pink flower in his buttonhole. If he was wearing oversized shoes you’d swear he was about to squirt water in your face.4:12 p.m. —Vozinha is here and diligently taking plenty of time signings autographs for kids on the red carpet. It’s safe to say that the Ballon d’Or wasn’t on the veteran Cape Verde goalkeeper’s itinerary a few months ago. But then the World Cup happened, including a joust with Lionel Messi, and the 40-year-old is in the mix for the Yashin Trophy.Imagn ImagesAdvertisement4 p.m. — Harry Kane is here. It prompted that very English sort of “whheeeyyy” cheers from a few up here in the circle seating at the Palladium. Talking of very English, the Bayern Munich captain is in a full dinner suit and bow tie. If he was on a different red carpet, you’d think he was the new James Bond. Kane’s Bayern teammates Michael Olise, Luis Diaz and Dayot Upamecano are along for the ride. We already have Diaz and Upamecano’s placements, but former Crystal Palace man Olise is on course for a top-10 finish.3:50 p.m. — We have been informed inside the gala that the start of the Ballon d’Or ceremony has been delayed by 30 minutes, now set to start at 4:30 p.m. ET (8:30 p.m. local time). No reason or explanation for the delay has been given.3:30 p.m. — The red carpet has concluded and the guests are beginning to take their seats at the Palladium Theatre in London! The event will be starting at the top of the hour!Advertisement3:10 p.m. — One of the favorites to win the 2026 Ballon d’Or, Kylian Mbappe, has arrived at the venue in London, setting local youngsters at the barrier scrambling for his autograph. Regardless of the remaining pending voting results, Mbappe has already become the first Frenchman to finish in the Top 10 of the Ballon d’Or standings ever. Can he win his first-ever Ballon d’Or trophy tonight?Inside the theatre, Mbappe’s arrival alongside Real Madrid teammate Marc Cucurella generated a bit of hubhub for attendees. Sorry Marc, that wasn’t for you. Still, you have Felix Magath’s vote, so it’s all good.3 p.m. — Michael Owen, the second-youngest player ever to win the Ballon d’Or, and the last English player to win the award, has arrived.Lamine Yamal has a few years left to break Ronaldo Nazario’s hold (who has also arrived at tonight’s function) on the youngest player to win the trophy, and he would smash the record if he wins today. Meanwhile, a Harry Kane win would snap the 25-year drought for English players in the award.2:30 p.m. — The family of Stanley Matthews, the first-ever Ballon d’Or winner, has arrived on the red carpet. Honoring the former England international is the reason the event is being held in London this year, the first time the award ceremony has ever been held outside France.AdvertisementYou can read more about the legendary career of Matthews here, including that he played until he was 51 years old!2:20 p.m. — There appears to be a bit of an uproar outside the event, as fans are being unruly in their attempts to get closer to the players. Police have had to intervene to keep the peace.2 p.m. — Anyway, talking of rankings, here’s how the men’s votes tallied from 12th to 20th11th: Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid)12th: Pau Cubarsi (Barcelona)13th: Achraf Hakimi (PSG)15th: Declan Rice (Arsenal)16th: Ferran Torres (Barcelona/PSG)17th: Vinicius Jr. (Real Madrid)18th: Marc Cucurella (Chelsea/Real Madrid)20th: Willian Pacho (PSG)1:45 p.m. — Okay, so there’s been a little bit of drama. The Ballon d’Or website published – in error – an article declaring Harry Kane to be the winner of the 2026 men’s Ballon d’Or. Yikes. Then it emerged there were also similarly gushing profiles on Kylian Mbappe and Lamine Yamal. The articles have been taken down now. Organisers have simply prepared for any eventuality. But there’s your podium – pick the order!Lamine Yamal e Mbappe Barcelona x Real MadridGetty ImagesAdvertisement1:20 p.m. — The rankings keep rolling in. Here are the men’s results from 21st through to 30th. After a turbulent few days, Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes comes in 27th.22nd: Lautaro Martinez (Inter)24th: Luis Dias (Bayern Munich)26th: Dayot Upamecano (Bayern Munich)27th: Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United)28th: Julian Quinones (Al-Qadsiah)=29th: William Saliba (Arsenal)=29th: Sadio Mane (Al Nassr)Arsenal defender GabrielGetty Images1 p.m. — Reporters are moving to red carpet positions, we’re not far away from the festivities commencing down here in London. In the meantime, here are positions 19 through to 11 in the Ballon d’Or Feminin vote.11th: Yui Hasegawa (Manchester City)12th: Klara Buhl (Bayern Munich)13th: Mariona Caldentey (Arsenal)14th: Wendie Renard (Lyon)15th: Cata Coll (Barcelona)16th: Mapi Leon (Barcelona/London City Lionesses)17th Esmee Brugts (Barcelona)18th: Barbra Banda (Orlando Pride)19th: Tessa Wullaert (Inter Milan/Como)Yui Hasegawa Women Soccer Japan 072524 Jiji 長谷川唯 パリ五輪 サッカー女子日本代表(Jiji Press)12:30 p.m. — The first batch of rankings for the Ballon d’Or Feminin have dropped. Here’s what they look like21st: Scarlett Camberos (Club America)22nd: Manaka Matsukubo (Northern Carolina Courage/Chelsea)23rd: Momoko Tanikawa (Bayern Munich)24th: Kerstin Casparij (Manchester City)25th: Caroline Weir (Real Madrid/Lyon)26th: Alex Greenwood (Manchester City)27th: Rose Lavelle (Gotham FC)= 28th: Lorena (Kansas City Current)= 28th: Vivianne Miedema (Manchester City)= 28th Melvine Malard (Manchester United/Chelsea)Vivianne Miedema of Manchester City(Getty Images)12 p.m. — Not as exciting as Harry Kane, but The Sporting News is also here on location at the ceremony, dressed to impress however much is feasibly possible in middle age. It’s a dour, wet day in the English capital city, but crowds are already flocking around the red carpet area just off Oxford Street. High fences and a decent security presence mean they can’t really see all that much. We’re now inside in the windowless dry of the designated event media room at an adjacent hotel. Glamorous, eh?Advertisement11:35 a.m. — Harry Kane is here! One of the favorites to pick up the main award tonight has arrived at London’s Palladium Theatre. Tonight’s venue is a little over eight miles from his beloved Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and it’d be extra special for the former Spurs striker to scoop the award on home soil today.11:04 a.m. — Here at TSN, we’ve given our verdict on who should win. Find out why none of our writers have picked Lamine Yamal and we’ve even gone for a rogue pick on the shortlist.10:30 a.m. — So who are the frontrunners to win today’s men’s Ballon d’Or? It’s pretty much a two-horse race between Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappe right now according to the bookmakers. Interestingly, Lamine Yamal has dropped out of favor with the bookies having been a real contender up until 24 hours ago. What do they know that we don’t?!Advertisement10 a.m. — Welcome to The Sporting News’ coverage of Ballon d’Or day 2026! We’re expecting the rankings of the nominees from places 30 to 11 to be announced late afternoon European time before the ceremony in London gets underway in the evening.What time does the 2026 Ballon d’Or ceremony startThe red carpet arrivals at the London Palladium Theatre in London, England starts at around 7 p.m. local time, with the ceremony scheduled to start at 8 p.m. and finish by 10 p.m. All times are estimated by event organizers.Here’s how that arrivals time translates across some of the major territories, keeping in mind that Europe — including the UK — saw daylight savings time end on Sunday, giving them a four-hour time difference from North America this week:DateKickoff timeUSA/CanadaMon, Oct. 264 p.m. ETUSA/CanadaMon, Oct. 261 p.m. PTUKMon, Oct. 268 p.m. BSTAustraliaTue, Oct. 277 a.m. AESTIndiaTue, Oct. 271:30 a.m. IST
