Alexia Putellas Leads Ballon d’Or Féminin Race After Barcelona Quadruple

Alexia Putellas is the leading candidate to reclaim the Ballon d’Or Féminin after driving Barcelona and Spain through a trophy-laden 2025-26 campaign, with the winner due to be revealed in London on Monday. The two-time recipient finished the season with 24 goals and 13 assists as Barcelona completed a quadruple and Spain won the UEFA Women’s Nations League.

What changed for the club

Barcelona’s remarkable season has placed a large group of its players in contention, although the club will not have a fourth successive award for Aitana Bonmatí. Bonmatí won the previous three editions but fractured her fibula in November, underwent surgery and did not return until May. She contributed to the run-in, including Barcelona’s Champions League final victory over Lyon, but was not nominated.

Putellas took on greater responsibility during midfield absences for Bonmatí and Patri Guijarro, while helping younger teammates establish themselves. Her individual recognition already includes the Champions League Player of the Season award, strengthening a case built on elite output and Barcelona’s clean sweep.

• Ewa Pajor recorded 33 goals and seven assists, scoring in each of Barcelona’s five Champions League knockout matches. Her two goals helped settle the final against Lyon, securing her first European title in a sixth final.
• Claudia Pina posted 32 goals and nine assists, won Liga F’s Golden Boot and scored in the Copa de la Reina final. A quieter finish, without a goal or assist in the Champions League knockouts or the Liga F Clásico against Real Madrid, may affect her final position.
• Caroline Graham Hansen supplied 18 goals and 16 assists, led Liga F for assists and produced important Champions League knockout displays.
• Guijarro returned strongly after more than two months out with a broken foot. She missed Spain’s Nations League success but finished the club campaign well, notably assisting Pajor’s second final goal.
• Goalkeeper Cata Coll kept 23 clean sheets for Barcelona and Spain. In the 4-0 final win over Lyon, she made four significant saves before Salma Paralluelo’s late double extended the margin.

Barcelona won the Champions League, Liga F, Supercopa de España and Copa de la Reina. Putellas, Pajor, Pina, Graham Hansen, Guijarro and Coll all have substantial claims from that success, though Putellas enters the ceremony as the clearest favourite.

The competition context

The voting period is shaped primarily by club form in 2025-26 because there was no Women’s World Cup during the year. Cameroon’s Africa Cup of Nations triumph in August falls outside the assessment period, while Japan’s Asian Cup victory in March remains relevant for players involved.

Manchester City’s domestic double has produced several strong cases. Khadija Shaw scored 39 goals and made nine assists, including 21 goals in 22 league matches, eight more than any other WSL player. She scored twice against Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-final, then delivered a goal and an assist in the 4-0 final victory over Brighton. City had no European campaign, however, which could restrict her challenge.

Vivianne Miedema returned to the shortlist after an injury-free season, having last been nominated in 2022. Her 14 goals and five assists helped City win their first Women’s Super League title for a decade and the FA Cup. Only two players scored more often in the league, while she ranked third for assists and second for direct goal contributions; her FA Cup final goal also enhanced her case.

Yui Hasegawa added six goals and five assists in an advanced role within City’s midfield partnerships with Laura Blindkilde Brown or Sam Coffey. Alongside the WSL and FA Cup, Japan’s Asian Cup win gives her another major achievement, with City beating Brighton 4-0 in the cup final.

Arsenal’s leading contenders have more mixed cases. Alessia Russo improved her individual output to 29 goals and 10 assists and scored in both Champions League knockout ties, but Arsenal’s European defence ended against Lyon in the semi-finals. The Gunners’ only major silverware was the inaugural FIFA Women’s Champions Cup, which Mariona Caldentey also won. Caldentey recorded seven goals and five assists after being used deeper more often, and her impact diminished during the latter stages of the Champions League.

Elsewhere, Bayern Munich’s domestic treble gives Klara Bühl and Pernille Harder strong credentials. Bühl returned from a two-month muscle injury to finish with 10 goals and 22 assists, including eight Champions League assists across her first six matches. Harder produced 34 goals and 14 assists, starred in Bayern’s quarter-final win over Manchester United and performed well despite the semi-final loss to Barcelona. Denmark also qualified automatically for next summer’s World Cup, while Harder’s standing remains notable after she placed second in the inaugural 2018 vote and 20th last year despite Denmark’s pointless Euro 2025 group-stage exit.

Melchie Dumornay led Lyon’s domestic treble with 22 goals and 12 assists. She scored the only goal in the Coupe de la Ligue final against PSG, opened the scoring in the Coupe de France final and struck a hat-trick in the league title decider. Her Champions League influence included a goal against Wolfsburg in the quarter-finals and a Player of the Match display against Arsenal in the semi-finals, before Lyon lost the final to Barcelona.

Temwa Chawinga’s 18 goals and four assists helped Kansas City Current lift the NWSL Shield, while she claimed another Golden Boot. She had also won both the Golden Boot and MVP awards in 2024 and repeated those honours in 2025, while maintaining form in the 2026 campaign. Her Malawi performances at the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations are outside the eligible period.

What is scheduled next

The Ballon d’Or Féminin ceremony will take place in London on Monday, ending a contest in which Barcelona’s quadruple winners set the standard but face serious competition across Europe and North America.

Putellas has the strongest blend of team success, personal production and previous voting pedigree. Pajor’s decisive Champions League scoring, Dumornay’s influence for Lyon, Shaw’s WSL dominance and Harder’s Bayern campaign give the ballot depth, while Coll’s final performance offers a rare goalkeeper case.

The final ranking will also show how voters value campaigns without major international tournaments. For Barcelona, the result will determine whether Putellas restores the club’s hold on the individual prize after Bonmatí’s three-year run ended through injury rather than a decline in the side’s dominance.