Kathmandu. Spanish midfielder Alexia Putelas has won the Women’s Ballon d’Or award for the third time. She is tied with Spain’s Aitana Bonmati in the record list of players who have won the award three times.
32-year-old Putelas captained Barcelona to four titles including the Champions League in the 2025-26 season. She then joined English Women’s Super League team London City Lions in July.
Putelas previously won back-to-back Ballon d’Ors in 2021 and 2022. Bonmati won this award in 2023, 2024 and 2025. For the last 6 years, the women’s Ballon d’Or has been won by Spanish players. In 2018, Norway’s Ada Hegerberg and in 2019, America’s Megan Rapinoe won this award.
The victory for Putelas, who was sidelined for a long time in 2022 with an ACL knee injury, was seen as his return to the top level of world football.
After receiving the award, Putelas urged children around the world to play the sport they love and believe in their abilities. She said it doesn’t matter if you are a boy or a girl, where you come from or what others say to play football.
Putelas received the most votes based on the votes of international journalists from the top 50 FIFA ranking countries. Barcelona striker Eva Pajor was second and Manchester City forward Khadija Shaw was third.
Meanwhile, on the men’s side, England captain Harry Kane won the Ballon d’Or. He became the first English player to win the award since Michael Owen in 2001.