Harry Kane and Alexia Putellas won the men’s and women’s Ballon d’Or awards respectively as the 2026 ceremony concluded at the London Palladium in England on Monday.

The 70th edition of the awards recognised outstanding performances in men’s and women’s football, with honours also presented to the best young players, goalkeepers, coaches and clubs, among others.

Below is the full list of winners and rankings from this year’s ceremony.

BALLON D’OR WINNERS

Men’s Ballon d’Or – Harry Kane

Women’s Ballon d’Or – Alexia Putellas

OTHER AWARD WINNERS

Men’s Young Talent of the Year – Lamine Yamal

Women’s Young Talent of the Year – Vicky Lopez

Women’s Coach of the Year – Pere Romeu

Men’s Coach of the Year – Luis de la Fuente

Women’s Goalkeeper of the Year – Cata Coll

Men’s Goalkeeper of the Year – Unai Simon

Women’s Club of the Year – FC Barcelona Femení

Men’s Club of the Year – PSG

Sócrates Award – Bukayo Saka

Men’s Gerd Müller Trophy – Harry Kane

Women’s Gerd Müller Trophy – Charlyn Corral

MEN’S BALLON D’OR RANKINGS

#1 Harry Kane
#2 Kylian Mbappé
#3 Lamine Yamal
#4 Rodri
#5 Lionel Messi
#6 Khvicha Kvaratskhelia
#7 Ousmane Dembélé
#8 Erling Haaland
#9 Michael Olise
#10 Fabián Ruiz

11 – Jude Bellingham
12 – Pau Cubarsí
13 – Achraf Hakimi
14 – Vitinha
15 – Declan Rice
16 – Ferran Torres
17 – Vinícius Júnior
18 – Marc Cucurella
19 – João Neves
20 – Willian Pacho
21 – Gabriel Magalhães
22 – Lautaro Martínez
23 – Nuno Mendes
24 – Luis Díaz
25 – Marquinhos
26 – Dayot Upamecano
27 – Bruno Fernandes
28 – Julián Quiñones
29 – William Saliba
29 – Sadio Mané

WOMEN’S BALLON D’OR RANKINGS

#1 Alexia Putellas
#2 Ewa Pajor
#3 Khadija Shaw
#4 Melchie Dumornay
#5 Patri Guijarro
#6 Caroline Graham Hansen
#7 Pernille Harder
#8 Claudia Pina
#9 Alessia Russo
#10 Temwa Chawinga

11 – Yui Hasegawa
12 – Klara Bühl
13 – Mariona Caldentey
14 – Wendie Renard
15 – Cata Coll
16 – Mapi León
17 – Esmee Brugts
18 – Barbra Banda
19 – Tessa Wullaert
20 – Selma Bacha
21 – Scarlett Camberos
22 – Manaka Matsukubo
23 – Momoko Tanikawa
24 – Kerstin Casparij
25 – Caroline Weir
26 – Alex Greenwood
27 – Rose Lavelle
28 – Lorena
28 – Melvine Malard
28 – Vivianne Miedema

Source: punchng.com

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José Mourinho insisted Real Madrid’s focus remains on the bigger picture after their 2-1 victory over Barcelona at the Camp Nou.

As reported by BBC Sport on Sunday, speaking after Kylian Mbappé’s late winner secured a dramatic Clásico triumph, the Real Madrid gaffer said, “In my view, Real Madrid do not play to win at the Camp Nou… Real Madrid play to win La Liga. This must be the mentality. We need to continue like this and don’t go over the moon after this win.

“We could win with luck, but we won with calmness and with all merit. It’s a very strong group. Everyone works very hard. Everyone was ready to win.

“The credit goes to the players. When you win, the credit goes to the players. But when you lose, the blame falls on you. And that’s why we see coaches being sacked from their positions every week.”

The Portuguese, who returned to Real 13 years after his first stint in charge this summer, has now won six and lost six El Clasicos.

He said, “I’ve learned that I have an extraordinary group, with the quality and mindset to play.

“In midfield, having a mix of talents gives us more than just having two players with similar characteristics. This mix of talents gives us balance when defending and quality when we go on the attack.

“We’ve beaten several teams by four or more goals, but this is Barca, and the players put on a great performance. We need to continue like this and don’t go over the moon after this win.”

Mourinho however warned that a slip-up in the next match would diminish the value of Sunday’s result.

The win closed the gap at the top of La Liga to three points.

Source: punchng.com

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For the first time in three years, Nigeria will watch the Ballon d’Or from the outside, as the 2026 winner is named on Monday (today) at the London Palladium, with Harry Kane, Lamine Yamal and Kylian Mbappe leading the race.

No Nigerian appears on the men’s shortlist, the women’s list or any of the other trophy categories.

The ceremony, the 70th edition of the award, starts at 8 pm in London, which is 9 pm in Nigeria. It is the first time the gala has been staged outside Paris, and Kate Scott and Thierry Henry will host.

The absentees include two men many Nigerian fans expected to see.

Victor Osimhen and Ademola Lookman scored seven of the Super Eagles’ 14 goals at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations and were among the tournament’s top four scorers. Osimhen ended the 2025/26 season with 30 goal contributions in all competitions, while Lookman managed 12 goals and six assists.

Numbers like those would ordinarily keep Osimhen in the conversation, but this year’s assessment window ran from August 3, 2025, to July 19, 2026, the day of the World Cup final.

Nigeria did not qualify for the tournament, and performances on the biggest international stage carry heavy weight with the judges.

The omission closes a short but notable chapter.

Osimhen finished eighth in 2023 after a prolific campaign that brought Napoli the Serie A title. A year later, Lookman placed 14th after scoring a hat-trick in Atalanta’s Europa League final win over Bayer Leverkusen and having a prolific AFCON campaign.

Last year the recognition came from the women’s game.

Super Falcons coach Justine Madugu and goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie were nominated after Nigeria beat hosts Morocco 3-2 in the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations final to win a record-extending 10th continental title. Madugu was shortlisted for the Women’s Team Coach of The Year award and Nnadozie for the Yashin Trophy, and both finished fourth in their categories in Paris.

Africa is represented on the men’s list only by Sadio Mané of Al Nassr.

The 30-man list is dominated by Paris Saint-Germain, who have 10 nominees. They include defending champion Ousmane Dembele, Achraf Hakimi and Vitinha. Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Arsenal also have several names, with Gabriel, Declan Rice and William Saliba in the biggest Premier League group. Erling Haaland and Bruno Fernandes are the only other players from England’s top flight. Lionel Messi, an eight-time winner, is on the list as an outsider after a strong World Cup.

At the front of the race, Kane captained England to third place at the World Cup and should he claim the honour, he would become the first Englishman to win the award since Michael Owen in 2001.

Yamal, meanwhile, helped Spain win the World Cup, where they beat Argentina 1-0 after extra time. The 19-year-old, who also won the European Championship in 2024, finished second to Dembele last year and is chasing a third successive Kopa Trophy for the best player under 21. Rodri, who now plays for Barcelona, won the Golden Ball as the World Cup’s best player and is also among the 30.

Mbappe, who won no trophies but claimed top scorer awards in LaLiga, UCL and the World Cup, is on the list alongside his Real Madrid teammates Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Junior.

The winner is decided by journalists from the top 100 countries in the FIFA men’s rankings, each of whom ranks a top 10. The criteria are individual performance, team achievements, and class and fair play.

PSG’s players face a clash on the night, as their Ligue 1 game against Lyon has been moved to Monday evening. The injured Dembele and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia are among those free to attend because both will miss that match.

For Nigerian fans, the evening will be a spectator sport and a reminder of how quickly a spell of global recognition can end without a World Cup stage.

Source: punchng.com

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