By OkayGoal
Alexia Putellas has been crowned the best player in the world for a third time. The London City Lionesses midfielder picked up the Ballon d’Or Féminin on Monday night, drawing level with her Spain team-mate Aitana Bonmatí on three wins and becoming the first player from a WSL club ever to take the award, BBC Sport reports.
Barcelona striker Ewa Pajor finished as runner-up, with Manchester City forward Khadija Shaw in third. The vote was cast by a panel of international journalists drawn from the 50 highest-ranked nations in the FIFA rankings. On the same night, Harry Kane won the men’s prize.
“If you love football and if you want to play football, play football. It doesn’t matter if you’re a boy or if you’re a girl,” Putellas said after collecting the trophy. “Doesn’t matter where you come from. Don’t listen if someone tells you, you can’t do it. Believe in yourself.”
😘🌕 #ballondor
Ballon d’Or (@ballondor) October 26, 2026
Spain’s grip on the award goes on
Putellas first won it in 2021 and retained it in 2022, before Bonmatí took over with victories in 2023, 2024 and 2025. That means the prize has now gone to a Spanish player six years running. Ada Hegerberg in 2018 and Megan Rapinoe in 2019 remain the only winners from outside Spain.
For the 32-year-old, this one carries extra weight. She tore her anterior cruciate ligament on the eve of Euro 2022, and although she held on to the Ballon d’Or later that year, the road back to her best was a long one. She was only a fringe figure as Spain lifted the World Cup in 2023.
A season that silenced the doubters
Her final campaign at Barcelona answered any lingering questions. With Bonmatí sidelined for five months, Putellas took on much of the creative load and captained the side to a quadruple, including a fourth Champions League title in six years. She finished with 21 goals and 13 assists in all competitions, seven of those goals coming in Europe.
The numbers behind the headline figures are just as striking. Across Liga F, the Champions League and both domestic cups, nobody created more chances (89) or completed more passes into the final third (965). She also scored twice in Spain’s 4-0 win over England in June, the result that sealed Spain’s ticket to the 2027 World Cup ahead of England.
From Barcelona to Bromley
Out of contract after 14 years and 38 trophies at her boyhood club, Putellas chose a new challenge in the summer. She turned down approaches from England, Mexico and the United States before signing for Michele Kang’s London City Lionesses in July, a move the club owner spoke about at length around her debut.
She has settled quickly. Putellas has three goals and an assist from seven WSL appearances so far, including the brace that helped London City thrash Tottenham 6-1 before the international break. The club marked the award with a message of congratulations to their new star.
Next up for Putellas and London City is a home WSL meeting with Manchester City at the CopperJax Community Stadium in Bromley on Sunday, 1 November, with a 12pm kick-off.
