Alexia Putellas has won the Ballon d’Or Féminin for a third time, matching Spain team-mate Aitana Bonmatí and extending Spain’s run of victories to six consecutive editions. Putellas, 32, received the award at Monday’s ceremony in London after captaining Barcelona to a quadruple in the 2025-26 season before joining Women’s Super League club London City Lionesses in July.
Putellas first won the prize in 2021 and 2022, then watched Bonmatí take it in 2023, 2024 and 2025. Norway’s Ada Hegerberg won in 2018 and the United States’ Megan Rapinoe in 2019, leaving Putellas and Bonmatí as the only players to claim the award across the past six editions. Barcelona striker Ewa Pajor finished second and Manchester City forward Khadija Shaw third. The women’s award is decided by journalists from the 50 highest-ranked countries in FIFA’s women’s rankings.
She scored 21 goals and supplied 13 assists in all competitions, including seven goals in the Champions League as Barcelona secured its fourth European title in six seasons. She also created 89 chances, 19 of them classified as big chances, and completed 965 passes ending in the final third across the four competitions.
Her return to the summit follows an anterior cruciate ligament injury that ruled her out of Euro 2022. She retained the award later that year, but played only a limited role in Spain’s 2023 World Cup triumph before rebuilding her form. She scored in the 2024 Champions League final and assumed greater creative responsibility in 2025-26 while Bonmatí missed five months through injury. Putellas also scored twice in Spain’s 4-0 win over England in June, securing Spain’s place at the 2027 Women’s World Cup.
After 14 seasons and 513 appearances for Barcelona, Putellas chose a new challenge with London City, the club backed by Michele Kang. The move placed the reigning winner at a club competing in England’s top division for the first time, and she has scored three goals and provided one assist in seven league matches. In her acceptance remarks, Putellas encouraged boys and girls to play football regardless of gender or background and to believe in themselves despite people who say they cannot succeed.