List of Ballon d’Or winners

The Ballon d’Or is an annual award for football (soccer) players presented by the French magazine France Football, a monthly publication covering football news. First awarded in 1956, it quickly became one of the sport’s most prestigious individual honors. It is awarded to football players based on their individual brilliance, team success, and fair play during a single European football season, which typically runs for 11 months, from August of one year to July of the next. Other accolades presented during the ceremony include the Yashin Trophy for the season’s best goalkeeper, the Kopa Trophy for the top player under 21 years of age, the Gerd Müller Trophy for the world’s top goal scorer, the Coach of the Year and Club of the Year awards in both men’s and women’s categories, and the Sócrates Award for sportsmanship and humanitarian contributions.

2026 Ballon d’Or

The 2026 Ballon d’Or award ceremony, the 70th edition of the prize, took place on October 26 in London. Former French football star Thierry Henry and English journalist Kate Scott served as hosts on the night. The 30-player short lists in both men’s and women’s categories were announced in September.

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Men’s rankings (in descending order): Harry Kane (England, Bayern Munich); Kylian Mbappé (France, Real Madrid); Lamine Yamal (Spain, FC Barcelona); Rodri (Spain, Manchester City, now with FC Barcelona); Lionel Messi (Argentina, Inter Miami); Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (Georgia, Paris Saint-Germain); Ousmane Dembélé (France, Paris Saint-Germain FC); Erling Haaland (Norway, Manchester City); Michael Olise (France, Bayern Munich); Fabián Ruiz (Spain, Paris Saint-Germain); Jude Bellingham (England, Real Madrid); Pau Cubarsí (Spain, FC Barcelona); Achraf Hakimi (Morocco, Paris Saint-Germain); Vitinha (Portugal, Paris Saint-Germain); Declan Rice (England, Arsenal); Ferran Torres (Spain, FC Barcelona, now with Paris Saint-Germain); Vinícius Júnior (Brazil, Real Madrid); Marc Cucurella (Spain, Chelsea FC, now with Real Madrid); João Neves (Portugal, Paris Saint-Germain); Willian Pacho (Ecuador, Paris Saint-Germain); Gabriel (Brazil, Arsenal); Lautaro Martínez (Argentina, Inter Milan); Nuno Mendes (Portugal, Paris Saint-Germain); Luis Díaz (Colombia, Bayern Munich); Marquinhos (Brazil, Paris Saint-Germain); Dayot Upamecano (France, Bayern Munich); Bruno Fernandes (Portugal, Manchester United); Julián Quiñones (Mexico, Al-Qadsiah); with Sadio Mané (Senegal, Al-Nassr) and William Saliba (France, Arsenal) tied for 29th place.

Women’s rankings (in descending order): Alexia Putellas (Spain, FC Barcelona, now with London City Lionesses); Ewa Pajor (Poland, FC Barcelona); Khadija Shaw (Jamaica, Manchester City); Melchie Dumornay (Haiti, OL Lyonnes); Patri Guijarro (Spain, FC Barcelona); Caroline Graham Hansen (Norway, FC Barcelona); Pernille Harder (Denmark, Bayern Munich); Clàudia Pina (Spain, FC Barcelona); Alessia Russo (England, Arsenal); Temwa Chawinga (Malawi, Kansas City Current); Yui Hasegawa (Japan, Manchester City); Klara Bühl (Germany, Bayern Munich); Mariona Caldentey (Spain, Arsenal); Wendie Renard (France, OL Lyonnes); Cata Coll (Spain, FC Barcelona); Mapi León (Spain, FC Barcelona, now with London City Lionesses); Esmee Brugts (Netherlands, FC Barcelona); Barbra Banda (Zambia, Orlando Pride); Tessa Wullaert (Belgium, Inter Milan, now with Como); Selma Bacha (France, OL Lyonnes); Scarlett Camberos (Mexico, Club América); Manaka Matsukubo (Japan, North Carolina Courage, now with Chelsea); Momoko Tanikawa (Japan, Bayern Munich); Kerstin Casparij (Netherlands, Manchester City); Caroline Weir (Scotland, Real Madrid, now with OL Lyonnes); Alex Greenwood (England, Manchester City); Rose Lavelle (United States, Gotham FC); with Lorena (Brazil, Kansas City Current), Melvine Malard (France, Manchester United, now with Chelsea), and Vivianne Miedema (Netherlands, Manchester City) tied for 28th place.

Ballon d’Or award process

French publications France Football and L’Équipe produce a 30-player short list of candidates. A specialized panel, comprising one journalist from each of the countries ranked in the top 100 by FIFA (for the Ballon d’Or Féminin, only one journalist from each ranked in the top 50), then votes to determine the winner. Each voter ranks their top 10 players, in order, from the short list. Players are awarded 15, 12, 10, 8, 7, 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1 point, respectively, depending on their ranking in each list. The total points for each player are tallied, and the one with the biggest total wins the award. Ties are resolved by counting the number of first-place votes the tied candidates received. If there is still a tie, the number of second-place votes will be tallied and so on until the deadlock is broken.

Winners

All of the winners are provided in the tables below:

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