In the autumn of 2026, Alexia Putellas, a 32-year-old Spaniard raised in the streets of Mollet del Valles, was named the best women's footballer in the world for a third time, matching a record that her compatriot Aitana Bonmati shares. The honour, decided by a panel of journalists across FIFA's top-ranked nations, lands in a long chapter where Spanish players have carried the prize for six years running, and it crowns a season in which Putellas led Barcelona to a quadruple. It also marks a return that was never guaranteed, from a knee injury that once threatened to end her ascent. Her words t
Putellas Matches Record With Third Ballon d'Or as Spain Extends Winning Run to Six Years
Don't listen if someone tells you, you can't do it.
Mark
Three Ballons d'Or. Why does this one feel different from the first two?
Mimi
Because of what sits between them. She tore her ACL on the eve of Euro 2022, missed the tournament, and then played only a bit-part role in Spain's 2023 World Cup win. This award comes after the long climb back.
Mark
And she did it right after leaving Barcelona.
Mimi
The vote covers 2025-26, when she captained Barcelona to a quadruple. She joined London City Lionesses in July, so the award honours her last season at the club she supported as a child.
Luke
Careful with the causal story, though. We know she led the voting, but the reporting doesn't give us vote totals or margins, only the order: Pajor second, Shaw third.
Mark
What do the numbers say about her season?
Mimi
21 goals and 13 assists in all competitions, third and second in Europe's top five leagues. She also created 89 chances, more than anyone in the four competitions listed.
Luke
Worth noting those chance figures cover specific competitions: Liga F, the Champions League, Copa de la Reina and Supercopa. They aren't a ranking of every player everywhere.
Mark
Does Spain's six-year run say something bigger?
Mimi
It's Putellas and Bonmati trading the prize back and forth. Bonmati missed five months last season, which meant Putellas carried more of the creative work.
Luke
Whether that injury absence swayed voters isn't something the source tells us. That's inference.
Mark
And what's next for her?
Mimi
Three goals and an assist in seven WSL games for London City so far, and a 2027 World Cup that Spain secured by beating England 4-0.
The Pulse
- A cruciate ligament tear on the eve of Euro 2022 threatened to bury a career that had only just reached its peak.
- Her decision to leave her childhood club Barcelona, after fourteen years and dozens of trophies, unsettled fans and wounded her heart.
- Across every competition last season she created more chances and completed more final-third passes than any rival in the league.
- She has moved to London City Lionesses and is still searching for her rhythm there, with three goals in seven WSL games.
- The award arrived on the same night as Harry Kane's men's Ballon d'Or, and her climb now points toward the 2027 World Cup.
In the autumn of 2026, Alexia Putellas, a 32-year-old Spaniard raised in the streets of Mollet del Valles, was named the best women's footballer in the world for a third time, matching a record that her compatriot Aitana Bonmati shares. The honour, decided by a panel of journalists across FIFA's top-ranked nations, lands in a long chapter where Spanish players have carried the prize for six years running, and it crowns a season in which Putellas led Barcelona to a quadruple. It also marks a return that was never guaranteed, from a knee injury that once threatened to end her ascent. Her words to children, that love of the game belongs to anyone who chooses it, give the moment a meaning beyond trophies.
Alexia Putellas, now 32, has won the Ballon d'Or Feminin for a third time, equalling the record held with her Spain team-mate Aitana Bonmati. Voted for by journalists from FIFA's top-50 nations, she finished ahead of Ewa Pajor and Khadija Shaw, and kept the prize in Spanish hands for a sixth year in a row.
Her season backed the vote. She captained Barcelona to a quadruple, scored 21 goals and set up 13 more, and created more chances and completed more final-third passes than anyone else across Spain's and Europe's major competitions. With Bonmati out for months through injury, much of the creative weight fell on her shoulders.
The road was not always kind. A torn knee ligament before Euro 2022 cost her that tournament, and it took her time to find her best form again. She came back, scored in the 2024 Champions League final, and earlier this year scored twice against England to take Spain to the 2027 World Cup.
Leaving Barcelona, the club where she grew up watching from Camp Nou, was a painful choice. In July she joined London City Lionesses, and she says she still needs to keep moving forward as a player and a person. On a night of landmark wins, she spoke to children everywhere: play, believe, and do not let anyone tell you that you cannot.
Alexia Putellas, 32, has won the Ballon d'Or Feminin for the third time, equalling the record and keeping the prize in Spanish hands for a sixth year running. She collected the most votes from an international panel of journalists drawn from FIFA's top-50 ranked countries. Barcelona striker Ewa Pajor finished second and Manchester City forward Khadija Shaw third.
The record she now shares belongs to her Spain team-mate and former Barcelona colleague Aitana Bonmati, who won in 2023, 2024 and 2025. Putellas took the award in 2021 and 2022. Between them, the pair have won each of the last six editions. Before that run, the only non-Spaniards to win were Norway's Ada Hegerberg in 2018 and Megan Rapinoe of the United States in 2019. On the same night, England captain Harry Kane won the men's Ballon d'Or, the first English winner since Michael Owen in 2001.
In her acceptance words, Putellas spoke to children everywhere: if you love football, play it, whether you are a boy or a girl and wherever you come from. She told them not to listen to anyone who says they cannot do it, and to believe in themselves.
The statistics from 2025-26 back the vote. Putellas captained Barcelona to a quadruple, including the Champions League, and scored 21 goals with 13 assists in all competitions. That ranked her third and second respectively among players in Europe's top five leagues. Seven of the goals came in the Champions League, where Barcelona won a fourth continental title in six seasons. Only Pernille Harder (eight), Alessia Russo (nine) and Pajor (11) scored more there, all of them strikers by trade.
Her influence went beyond scoring. In Liga F, which Barcelona won for a seventh straight season, she finished joint-sixth for assists with seven and fourth for open-play chances created with 40. Across all competitions she created 89 chances, 19 of them big chances, and completed 965 passes ending in the final third, both more than anyone else in Liga F, the Champions League, the Copa de la Reina and the Supercopa de Espana. Her 36 chances created in the Champions League matched Bayern Munich's Klara Buhl and was the most in a single edition since Caroline Graham Hansen's 38 in 2021-22. Much of that creative load fell to her because Bonmati missed five months through injury.
Putellas grew up in Mollet del Valles, about 12 miles north-east of Barcelona, and began playing in the street. She became a Barcelona fan and regular at Camp Nou, with Andres Iniesta, Rivaldo and Ronaldinho as her idols. After a summer camp run by Xavi and a spell with CE Sabadell, she spent a year at La Masia. Stints at Espanyol and Levante followed the disbandment of her girls team, and she returned to Barcelona in 2012. Over 14 years she won 38 trophies, including 10 league titles and four European cups.
The road back was not smooth. After her first Ballon d'Or in 2021, she tore an anterior cruciate ligament on the eve of Euro 2022, ruling her out of the tournament. She retained the award that year, but took time to regain her best level and played only a minor part in Spain's 2023 World Cup triumph. She scored in the 2024 Champions League final and improved again the following season. In June she scored twice in a 4-0 win over England that sent Spain to the 2027 World Cup at England's expense.
With her Barcelona contract expiring, she chose to leave her childhood club, a decision that left her and her fans distraught. Offers came from England, Mexico and the United States, and in July she joined London City Lionesses, the project of US billionaire Michelle Kang. She told the BBC's Women's Football Weekly podcast in August that she is always looking forward to better things and needs to keep moving as a person and a player. So far she has three goals and one assist in seven WSL games for her new club.
Notable Quotes
If you love football and want to play it, play it; it doesn't matter if you're a boy or a girl, or where you come from. Believe in yourself.— Alexia Putellas, on winning the award
She is always looking forward to better things and needs to keep moving as a person and a player.— Alexia Putellas, BBC Women's Football Weekly podcast, August (paraphrased)
Want the full story?
Read the original at BBC News ↗
Sports