Spain midfielder Alexia Putellas has been awarded the Ballon d’Or Feminin for a third time, marking a record-equalling achievement and extending Spain’s dominance of the individual prize to six consecutive years. The 32-year-old, who captained Barcelona to a domestic and European quadruple during the 2025-26 campaign, now shares the record for the most wins with her international teammate and former Barcelona colleague, Aitana Bonmati.
Bonmati previously claimed the award in 2023, 2024, and 2025, while Putellas secured her first two victories in 2021 and 2022. This streak of Spanish winners follows the final years of the previous era, where only Norway’s Ada Hegerberg in 2018 and American star Megan Rapinoe in 2019 managed to break the trend. According to the past six Ballons d’Or have been won by the Spanish pair, with Norway’s Ada Hegerberg (2018) and Megan Rapinoe of the United, (2019) the only non-Spaniards to claim the prize.
The latest accolade signifies a remarkable resurgence for Putellas, who had to overcome a severe anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury suffered just before Euro 2022.
Addressing aspiring athletes, she emphasized, “All the boys and girls around the world—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. Doesn’t matter where you come from. Don’t listen if someone tells you, you can’t do it. Believe in yourself.”
Putellas received the highest number of votes from an international panel of journalists representing FIFA’s top-50 ranked nations. Barcelona striker Ewa Pajor finished second in the voting, while Manchester City forward Khadija Shaw took third place. Notably, the men’s Ballon d’Or was won by England captain Harry Kane, marking the first time an English player has claimed the title since Michael Owen in 2001. Only Pernille Harder (eight), Alessia Russo (nine) and Ewa Pajor (11) scored more, all of whom are strikers by trade.
Last season, nicknamed ‘La Reina’—the queen—Putellas proved her enduring elite status by scoring 21 goals and providing 13 assists across all competitions. Her influence was particularly evident in the Women’s Champions League, where she netted seven goals to help Barcelona clinch their fourth continental title in just six seasons. Within Liga F, which Barcelona captured for the seventh year in a row, she ranked among the top performers for both assists and open-play chances created. In Liga F – which Barcelona won for a seventh consecutive season – she finished joint-sixth for assists (seven) and fourth for open-play chances created (40). The most by a player in a single edition of the competition since Caroline Graham Hansen in 2021-22 (38), only Bayern Munich’s Klara Buhl created as many chances as Putellas in the Champions League last season (36).
The breadth of her playmaking was statistically elite; she led all players in the Champions League, Liga F, and domestic cup competitions in chances created, with 89, and completed 965 passes ending in the final third. Her work rate in the attacking third was mirrored by her 151 sequence involvements ending in an open-play shot, a tally surpassed by only three other players across Europe’s top five leagues. Only Claudia Pina (199), Vicky Lopez (183) and Georgia Stanway (168) recorded more sequence involvements ending in an open-play shot than Putellas (151), across Europe’s top five leagues. She created more chances (89, 19 of which were big chances) and completed more passes ending in the final third (965) than any other player in Liga F, the Champions League, Copa de la Reina and Supercopa de Espana, in all competitions.
Born in Mollet del Valles, 12 miles from Barcelona, Putellas began her journey as a regular attendee at Camp Nou, idolizing stars such as Andres Iniesta, Rivaldo, and Ronaldinho. After honing her skills at Barcelona’s La Masia academy and gaining experience with Espanyol and Levante, she returned to her childhood club in 2012. Her 14-year tenure there yielded 38 trophies, including ten league titles and four European cups. About 12 miles north-east of Barcelona, putellas was born and grew up in the Catalan municipality of Mollet del Valles. After attending a summer football camp run by Xavi and playing for local side CE Sabadell, Putellas spent a year at La Masia, Barcelona’s famous youth academy. Before she eventually returned to Barca in 2012, spells at Espanyol and Levante followed the disbandment of her girls team. Including 10 league titles and four European cups, cue the start of a 14-year career with her childhood club during which she won 38 trophies.
Following her 2021 Ballon d’Or win, her career faced adversity with the aforementioned ACL injury. Despite returning to form, she played only a limited role in Spain’s 2023 World Cup victory. However, she regained her peak performance during the 2025-26 season, shouldering the creative burden at Barcelona while Bonmati recovered from a five-month injury absence. One of the toughest moments of Putellas’ career came when she suffered an ACL injury on the eve of Euro 2022, ruling her out of the tournament, but after winning the Ballon d’Or for the first time in 2021.
Her impact remained vital on the international stage as well, notably scoring twice in a 4-0 win against England in June, a result that secured Spain a spot in the 2027 World Cup. Following the expiration of her Barcelona contract, Putellas sought a new challenge and chose to join the ambitious project led by US billionaire Michelle Kang at London City Lionesses in July.
Reflecting on her decision to move to the Women’s Super League, she noted, “I’m just always looking forward to better things and that’s why I’m here too, because I always need to be moving as a person and a player.” With three goals and one assist in her opening seven WSL appearances, she continues to demonstrate why she remains one of the world’s most influential midfielders.
