Spain and former Barcelona Femini star Alexia Putellas leads the race for the 2026 Women’s Ballon d’Or award.
Putellas, who now plays her trade with Women’s Super League club London City Lionesses, is contending for the prestigious award alongside her former teammates Esmee Brugts, Cata Coll, Caroline Graham Hansen, Patri Guijarro, Mapi León, and Ewa Pajor.
She made history as the first female player to win the prestigious trophy in consecutive years while playing for FC Barcelona, having won it in 2021 and 2022.
She was named the UEFA Women’s Champions League Player of the Season for 2025–26 after Barcelona thrashed Lyon to clinch the trophy.
She scored 7 goals and had 7 assists in 11 matches during the competition.
The full list for the Women’s Ballon d’Or category
Selma Bacha – OL Lyonnes/France
Barbra Banda – Orlando Pride/Zambia
Klara Bühl – Bayern Munich/Germany
Esmee Brugts – FC Barcelona Femeni/Netherlands
Mariona Caldentey – Arsenal/Spain
Scarlett Camberos – Club America/Mexico
Kerstin Casparij – Manchester City Women/Netherlands
Temwa Chawinga – Kansas City Current/Malawi
Cata Coll – FC Barcelona Femeni/Spain
Melchie Dumornay – OL Lyonnes/Haiti
Caroline Graham Hansen – FC Barcelona Femeni/Norway
Alex Greenwood – Manchester City Women/England
Pernille Harder – Bayern Munich/Denmark
Patri Guijarro – FC Barcelona Femeni/Spain
Rose Lavelle – Gotham FC/US Women’s National Soccer Team
Yui Hasegawa – Manchester City Women/Japan
Mapi León – FC Barcelona Femení, London City Lionesses/Spain
Lorena – Kansas City Current/Brazil
Melvine Malard – Manchester United, Chelsea/France
Manaka Matsukubo – North Carolina Courage, Chelsea/Japan
Ewa Pajor – FC Barcelona Femení/Poland
Vivianne Miedema – Manchester City Women/Netherlands
Claudia Pina – FC Barcelona Femení/Spain
Alexia Putellas – FC Barcelona Femení, London City Lionesses/Spain
Alessia Russo – Arsenal/England
Momoko Tanikawa – Bayern Munich/Japan
Wendie Renard—OL Lyonnes/France
Khadija Shaw – Manchester City Women/Jamaica
Caroline Weir – Real Madrid, OL Lyonnes/Scotland
Tessa Wullaert – Inter Milan, Como/Belgium
The shortlist for the 2026 Ballon d’Or nominees has been announced, marking the 70th year of the Ballon d’Or to recognize and celebrate great achievements in the world of football across the 2025/26 season.
The nominees were announced via the award body’s X handle on Tuesday.
