“The award that crowns the legends of the game” — Kate Scott, 2026 Ballon d’Or Ceremony
From the buzz around the World Cup with glitz, glamor, and unity, 2026 has been a huge excitement for the world of football. Players, families, and friends all gathered in the London Palladium anxiously waiting to see who would be given the Ballon d’Or — only the most prestigious award in all of football — for the 70th edition. Fan favourites glossed around the biggest names, Harry Kane for the men’s award, and Alexia Putellas for the women’s. No surprises here, at the end of the night they both took their trophies home to commemorate the heart and soul they gave this past year to the world’s most beloved sport.
Alexia Putellas: Ballon d’Or Féminin Winner
Known as one of the greatest female football players of all time, Alexia Putellas secured her third Ballon d’Or Féminin, which is remarkable enough on its own, but the fact that the women’s edition of this award has only been around since 2018 puts her over the edge of greatness. As Barcelona’s most decorated player, with nearly 30 trophies and awards to her name, Putellas played for FC Barcelona Femeni for 14 years, playing midfield and serving as first captain from 2021 through 2026 until her contract with the team expired. Along with a grand total of 234 career goals, Putellas won the UEFA Women’s Player of the Year and also the title of the Best FIFA Women’s Player in 2021, and came back in 2022 to win both awards for the second time.
In July of 2022, the Midfielder tore her left ACL, forcing her to sit out of the league for nearly ten months as she underwent her surgery and recovery. “Don’t listen to someone who tells you you can’t do it, just do it. If you have a dream, just go for it, and do it with love and passion”, Putellas said as she closed off her 2026 Ballon d’Or speech. Driven by her own philosophy, she had a rebound and was selected after returning to the pitch to represent Spain in the 2023 Women’s World Cup, where Spain ultimately brought the trophy home. Earlier this year, after her contract with FCBF expired, Putellas was transferred to the London City Lionesses on a base salary of £1,000,000 (roughly €1,500,000), and so far has three career goals with her new team.
Harry Kane: Ballon d’Or Winner
“Working hard is a talent”, Thierry Henry noted during the 2026 Ballon d’Or Ceremony while describing Kane’s efforts. Producing legend after legend, England has a robust record of extraordinary players. However, England had fallen short of a Ballon d’Or winner for the last twenty-five years, with the last winner being Michael Owen in 2001. Proving to be a rousing success, having scored six goals during the 2026 FIFA World Cup as the Captain of the English team and also being named top striker during the awards ceremony, the man, the myth, and the legend, Harry Kane brought an end to the hiatus this October, placing the Ballon d’Or as the cherry on top of his impressive career.
Starting his journey with the Tottenham Hotspur in 2009 and capping it off in 2023 with a total of 280 goals, Kane is still the team’s all-time goalscorer, along with being the English National Teams all-time top goalscorer, with 91 goals, having played as centre forward for both teams. For the 2021/2022 season, Kane was named as the top goal scorer in the Premier League. Having done his damage, in 2023 Kane had the most expensive transfer in Bundesliga’s history — the primary football league in Germany — amounting to €110,000,000 for Kane to play for FC Bayern Munich, where he scored 36 goals in his first season and won the European Golden Shoe.
