How does the Ballon d'Or voting work?

On Monday 26 October, London hosted the Ballon d'Or ceremony. The standout stars of the evening were England’s Harry Kane, winner of the men’s category, and Spain’s Alexia Putellas, who took the women’s award. But how were the winners chosen?

The men’s Ballon d'Or is decided by an international jury of football journalists, with one representative from each of the 100 countries highest in the FIFA rankings at the time the nominees were announced.

The assessment period ran from 3 August 2025 to 19 July 2026, taking into account performances for both clubs and national teams. Three criteria were taken into account, in order of importance:

  1. Individual performance, including decisive and outstanding displays.

  2. Team performance and titles won.

  3. Class and fair play.

Each member of the jury selects ten players, in order of preference. They are awarded 15, 12, 10, 8, 7, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1 point respectively. The Ballon d'Or is awarded to the player with the highest total score.

The process for the Women’s Ballon d'Or follows the same format, but includes one representative from each country ranked in the top 50 of the FIFA rankings, rather than the top 100 as in the men’s category.

Two Brazilian journalists took part in the voting in 2026. In the men’s category, the representative was Cléber Machado, aged 64, a commentator and lead presenter at Record TV. In the women’s category, Brazil was represented by Mariana Spinelli, a 29-year-old journalist and presenter at TV Globo.

Cléber Machado: Messi at the top, Kane only fourth

Although Bayern Munich’s Harry Kane was the big winner, Cléber Machado placed the English striker only fourth in his ranking.

First place went to 39-year-old Lionel Messi, winner of a record eight Ballon d'Or awards.

Cléber Machado’s top ten for the 2026 Men’s Ballon d'Or:

  1. Lionel Messi (Argentina / Inter Miami)

  2. Kylian Mbappé (France / Real Madrid)

  3. Rodri (Spain / Manchester City)

  4. Harry Kane (England / Bayern Munich)

  5. Michael Olise (France / Bayern Munich)

  6. Lamine Yamal (Spain / Barcelona)

  7. Erling Haaland (Norway / Manchester City)

  8. Vinícius Júnior (Brazil / Real Madrid)

  9. Ousmane Dembélé (France / Paris Saint-Germain)

  10. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (Georgia / Paris Saint-Germain)

Messi finished the general vote in fifth place, with 612 points, but Cléber Machado was not the only journalist to place him at the top of his list. Five other members of the jury also chose the Argentine star as their favourite.

The six jury members who voted for Messi as the winner of the 2026 Ballon d'Or:

  • Argentina (Ezequiel Fernández Moores – La Nación)

  • Belarus (Sergueï Nikolaïev – Pressball)

  • Brazil (Cléber Machado – Record TV)

  • China (Luo Ming – Titan Sports)

  • United Arab Emirates (Osama Mohamad Alamri – Abu Dhabi Sports TV)

  • Panama (Humberto Cornejo – La Prensa)

The only Brazilian included by Machado in his top 10 was Vinícius Júnior, the Real Madrid forward, who came in eighth place.

Cléber Machado’s other choices

The journalist also took part in the voting for two other categories.

For Manager of the Season – Men’s Teams, he chose Luis de la Fuente, who led the Spanish national team to the World Cup title. As for Goalkeeper of the Season, his choice was Unai Simón, who also played a key role in La Roja’s successful campaign.

Both won their respective categories.

Mariana Spinelli: Putellas the favourite for the women’s award

In the women’s vote, Mariana Spinelli chose Alexia Putellas as the winner of the Ballon d'Or, ahead of Patri Guijarro in second place and Ewa Pajor in third.

Putellas lived up to the Brazilian journalist’s prediction and won the award with 618 points.

Mariana Spinelli’s top ten for the 2026 Women’s Ballon d'Or:

  1. Alexia Putellas (Barcelona / Spain)

  2. Patri Guijarro (Barcelona / Spain)

  3. Ewa Pajor (Barcelona / Poland)

  4. Melchie Dumornay (OL Lyonnes / Haiti)

  5. Pernille Harder (Bayern Munich / Denmark)

  6. Clàudia Pina (Barcelona / Spain)

  7. Khadija "Bunny" Shaw (Manchester City / Jamaica)

  8. Klara Bühl (Bayern Munich / Germany)

  9. Alessia Russo (Arsenal / England)

  10. Temwa Chaŵinga (Kansas City Current / Malawi)

It was the first time Spinelli had taken part in the vote. A few days later, she commented on the experience on her Twitter account: ‘Fair? I think there’ll always be differing opinions; I was really nervous doing it, but I really enjoyed the experience. I really appreciate the opportunity and the trust France Football placed in me by asking me.’ (Twitter – Mariana Spinelli)

Mariana Spinelli’s other choices

In the other two categories in which she took part, Mariana chose Pere Romeu for Coach of the Season – Women’s Teams and Cata Coll for Goalkeeper of the Season.

Both played a key role in Barcelona’s triumphant 2025–26 season, which included winning the Women’s Champions League. Both Romeu and Coll went on to win their respective awards.

Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Ronaldinho and Kaká also voted

The Young Talent of the Season categories follow a different process. Instead of a jury of journalists, the winners are chosen by former Ballon d'Or winners.

Each selects three players, in order of preference, who are awarded 5, 3 and 1 point respectively. The trophy goes to the player with the highest total score.

For this reason, the four Brazilian Ballon d'Or winners also took part in the 2026 men’s vote.

Ronaldo (Ballon d'Or winner in 1997 and 2002):

  1. Lamine Yamal (Barcelona / Spain)

  2. Pau Cubarsí (Barcelona / Spain)

  3. Warren Zaïre-Emery (Paris Saint-Germain / France)

Rivaldo (Ballon d'Or winner in 1999):

  1. Pau Cubarsí (Barcelona / Spain)

  2. Lamine Yamal (Barcelona / Spain)

  3. Yan Diomandé (Leipzig / Ivory Coast)

Ronaldinho (Ballon d'Or winner in 2005):

  1. Pau Cubarsí (Barcelona / Spain)

  2. Lamine Yamal (Barcelona / Spain)

  3. Yan Diomandé (Leipzig / Ivory Coast)

Kaká (Ballon d'Or winner in 2007):

  1. Lamine Yamal (Barcelona / Spain)

  2. Warren Zaïre-Emery (Paris Saint-Germain / France)

  3. Pau Cubarsí (Barcelona / Spain)

In the end, Lamine Yamal, the 19-year-old Barcelona star, took the trophy with 96 points. It was the third consecutive year that the Spaniard had won the award.

In the women’s category of the award, however, no Brazilian journalist or former player took part in the voting. The winner was Vicky López, of Barcelona, who claimed the trophy for the second year running.

The Brazilian perspective on the Ballon d'Or

From Messi to Putellas, via Yamal and the standout performers in the individual categories, the Brazilian votes revealed different perspectives on the world football season.

Cléber Machado and Mariana Spinelli had the opportunity to take part in one of the sport’s most prestigious awards, whilst four Brazilian legends helped to select the new talents. Their involvement demonstrates how Brazil continues to be part of the history of the Ballon d'Or, both on and off the pitch.