Spain midfielder Alexia Putellas has claimed the Ballon d'Or Feminin for a record-equalling third time, extending Spanish dominance of the award to six consecutive years. The 32-year-old, who captained Barcelona to a quadruple trophy haul in 2025-26 before moving to Women's Super League side London City Lionesses in July, now stands alongside team-mate Aitana Bonmati on three awards. According to BBC Sport, Putellas won the honour in 2021 and 2022, while Bonmati claimed consecutive titles in 2023, 2024 and 2025.
The award marks a remarkable resurgence for Putellas following a career-threatening anterior cruciate ligament injury sustained in 2022. The New York Times reported that Putellas was the only former winner among the 30 women's nominees for the 2026 award, with reigning champion Bonmati absent from the shortlist after missing most of the previous season through injury.
How did Putellas perform in 2025-26?
Putellas' latest victory reflects an outstanding campaign that demonstrated her continued status among the world's elite players. Nicknamed 'La Reina' (the queen), she scored 21 goals and provided 13 assists across all competitions, placing her third and second respectively among players in Europe's top five leagues. In the Women's Champions League alone, seven of those goals came as Barcelona secured a fourth continental title in six seasons.
Her goal tally was particularly impressive given her midfield role. Only three strikers—Pernille Harder with eight, Alessia Russo with nine, and Ewa Pajor with eleven—scored more in the competition. However, Putellas' impact extended far beyond her own finishing. In Liga F, where Barcelona won their seventh consecutive title, she finished joint-sixth for assists with seven and fourth for open-play chances created with forty.
Across Europe's top five leagues, only three players recorded more sequence involvements ending in an open-play shot than Putellas' 151: Claudia Pina with 199, Vicky Lopez with 183, and Georgia Stanway with 168. In all competitions, she created more chances than any other player in Liga F, the Champions League, Copa de la Reina and Supercopa de Espana, with 89 total chances including 19 big chances. She also completed more passes ending in the final third—965 in total—than any other player across those same competitions.
Her creative dominance in European competition was equally striking. Only Bayern Munich's Klara Buhl matched Putellas' 36 chances created in the Champions League last season, the highest tally by any player in a single edition of the competition since Caroline Graham Hansen recorded 38 in 2021-22.
What is Putellas' path to this moment?
Putellas was born and raised in Mollet del Valles, a Catalan municipality approximately 12 miles north-east of Barcelona. She grew up playing football in the streets and became a devoted Barcelona supporter, regularly attending matches at Camp Nou. Watching former Spain and Barcelona midfielder Andres Iniesta, alongside Brazilian legends Rivaldo and Ronaldinho, shaped her footballing ambitions from an early age.
Her formal development began at a summer football camp run by Xavi and continued with local side CE Sabadell. She spent a year at La Masia, Barcelona's renowned youth academy, before spells at Espanyol and Levante following the disbandment of her girls team. Putellas returned to Barcelona in 2012, beginning a 14-year association with her childhood club during which she accumulated 38 trophies, including 10 league titles and four European cups.
The pinnacle of her early career came in 2021 when she won the Ballon d'Or for the first time. However, her trajectory was disrupted when she suffered an ACL injury on the eve of Euro 2022, ruling her out of the tournament. Though she retained the award later that year, her recovery was gradual, and she played only a limited role in Spain's triumphant 2023 World Cup campaign.
A turning point arrived in the 2024 Champions League final, where Putellas scored as Barcelona defeated Lyon. The following season proved transformative. With Bonmati sidelined for five months through injury, Putellas shouldered much of Barcelona's creative responsibility as the club claimed the quadruple. In June 2025-26, she scored twice in a 4-0 victory over England that secured Spain's qualification for the 2027 World Cup at the Lionesses' expense.
Why did Putellas leave Barcelona?
With her contract at Barcelona expiring and seeking a fresh challenge after 14 years, Putellas made the difficult decision to depart her childhood club. She received offers from England, Mexico and the United States, but ultimately joined the ambitious project of US billionaire Michelle Kang at London City Lionesses in July 2026.
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, Putellas told BBC's Women's Football Weekly podcast in August.
Her move to London City came as part of significant investment in the club. Yahoo Sports reported that fellow Spanish defender Jana Fernandez had joined from Barcelona in August 2025 on a deal through 2029, while BBC Sport noted that French forward Kadidiatou Diani joined on a three-year deal for over £500,000, reuniting with owner Kang.
Despite the transition to English football, Putellas has made an immediate impact. In seven WSL matches for London City, she has scored three goals and provided one assist, demonstrating that her nickname remains well-deserved.
What is the broader context of Spanish dominance?
Putellas' third Ballon d'Or extends Spain's remarkable hold on the women's award. The past six consecutive winners have all been Spanish, with only Norway's Ada Hegerberg in 2018 and the United States' Megan Rapinoe in 2019 breaking that streak in recent years. The dominance reflects both the strength of Spanish club football, particularly Barcelona's sustained excellence, and the depth of talent within the Spanish national team.
Bonmati's absence from this year's nominees, following her three consecutive wins from 2023 to 2025, created an opening that Putellas seized. Her return to the award after a four-year gap underscores her resilience and the quality of her performances in 2025-26, even as she navigated the transition to a new club and league.
