The 2026 Ballon d'Or ceremony, held on the evening of Monday, October 26, drew significant attention in sports circles, highlighting the most prominent stars of global football and the individual awards that honor their achievements during the season.
Spanish player Lamine Yamal, a star from Barcelona, stole the spotlight after winning the Kopa Award for Best Young Player for the third consecutive time, while his compatriot Luis de la Fuente, coach of the Spanish national team, received the award for Best Coach, and Vicky Lopez was crowned Best Young Player.
The most notable winners at the 2026 ceremony
Kopa Award (Best Young Player): Awarded to Spanish player Lamine Yamal (Barcelona) for the third consecutive time.
Best Coach in the World: Awarded to Spanish coach Luis de la Fuente (Spain national team coach).
Best Young Female Player: Awarded to Vicky Lopez (Barcelona Ladies). [1, 2, 3]
Player Club and Country
Ousmane Dembélé Paris Saint-Germain France
Erling Haaland Manchester City Norway
Harry Kane Bayern Munich England
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia Paris Saint-Germain Georgia
Kylian Mbappé Real Madrid France
Lionel Messi Inter Miami Argentina
Michael Oliseh Bayern Munich France
Fabian Ruiz Paris Saint-Germain Spain
Rodri Barcelona Spain
Lamine Jamal Spain
In the hours leading up to the ceremony, confusion arose after the official awards website published articles indicating victories for Harry Kane, Kylian Mbappé, and Lamine Yamal, only to delete them later, raising questions about why they were published before the official announcement.
Individual awards remain a focal point for football fans amid the competition among stars from European clubs to claim the most prestigious individual titles for the 2025-2026 football season.
English player Bukayo Saka from Arsenal won the Socrates Award for humanitarian initiatives and social solidarity.
Unai Simon won the Yashin Trophy for Best Male Goalkeeper of 2026.
Spanish goalkeeper Kata Kol and Unai Simon, the Spain national team goalkeeper, were awarded the title for Best Goalkeepers of the year.
The nominees for Best Female Goalkeeper included: Berger, Kol, Hampton, Lorena, and Yumashita. In contrast, the nominees for men included: Courtois, Martinez, Raya, Safonov, and Simon.
Former Manchester United and Denmark national team goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel took the stage to present the award to Kata Kol and Unai Simon.
Luis de la Fuente won the Johan Cruyff Trophy for Best Male Coach of 2026.
The nominees for the award included: Mikel Arteta, Luis de la Fuente, Unai Emery, Vincent Kompany, and Luis Enrique.
Thierry Henry conveyed everyone’s wishes on stage for a speedy recovery for Kompany, who is recovering from illness after Bayern Munich training and could not attend the ceremony.
After a commercial break, Rafa Benitez remained on stage to announce the winner and present the award to Luis de la Fuente, the 2026 World Cup champion.
Four awards out of four for Spain; adding a new achievement to the decorated cabinet of the World Cup-winning coach.
Peri Romeo was awarded Best Women's Team Coach of the year.
The nominees for the award included: Giráldez, Wigler, Milsen, Romeo, and Sadiko.
Rafa Benitez, who led Liverpool to win the UEFA Champions League in 2005, presented the award to Peri Romeo.
A new achievement and a third victory for Barcelona and Spain out of three awards so far.
Romeo said, "It is my pleasure to be here and receive this award."
"This award should have been for Koubarci,"
said Lamine Jamal, who receives this honor for the third time at the age of nineteen: "It is a great honor to be here to receive this award. I believe this award should have been for Pau Koubarci; he has displayed high levels and I think he deserves it."
Thierry Henry asked him, "Is this the award you really wanted tonight?"
Jamal replied, "This award should have been for Koubarci."