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 amongst the top 50 in the FIFA rankings, rather than the top 100 as in the men’s category.

Two Portuguese journalists took part in the voting in 2026. In the men’s category, the representative was António Tadeia, a 56-year-old journalist and pundit who works for RTP and also publishes on Substack. In the women’s category, Portugal was represented by Sara Salgueira, a journalist for the Futebol Feminino em Portugal website.

António Tadeia’s picks for the men’s Ballon d'Or

Although Bayern Munich’s Harry Kane won the award, António Tadeia placed the English striker only sixth in his ranking.

His choice for first place was Lamine Yamal, the 19-year-old Barcelona star, who finished third in the final standings.

António Tadeia’s top ten for the 2026 Men’s Ballon d'Or:

  1. Lamine Yamal (Barcelona / Spain)

  2. Kylian Mbappé (Real Madrid / France)

  3. Erling Haaland (Manchester City / Norway)

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

  5. Pau Cubarsí (Barcelona / Spain)

  6. Harry Kane (Bayern Munich / England)

  7. Lionel Messi (Inter Miami / Argentina)

  8. Nuno Mendes (Paris Saint-Germain / Portugal)

  9. Lautaro Martínez (Inter Milan / Argentina)

  10. Rodri (Manchester City / Spain)

Kane out of the top five

Although Kane won the award, Tadeia was not the only one to place the Englishman lower down in his ranking. A further 17 members of the jury also failed to include the Bayern striker in the top five.

Jury members who did not place Harry Kane in the top five for the 2026 Men’s Ballon d'Or:

  • Albania (Besnik Dizdari – Futbolli Shqiptar) – 7th place

  • Algeria (Yazid Ouahib – El Watan) – 8th place

  • Bulgaria (Rumen Paytachev – blitz.bg) – 8th place

  • Cameroon (Emmanuel Gustave Samnick – L’Actu Sport / Notre Afrik) – 10th place

  • Qatar (Majed Alkhelaifi – Stad Doha) – 6th place

  • Croatia (Zdravko Reić – Jutarnji List) – 6th place

  • France (Vincent Garcia – France Football) – 6th place

  • Greece (Manos Staramopoulos – Dimokratia) – 7th place

  • Honduras (Francisco Antonio Rivas – Emisión Deportes) – 6th place

  • Jordan (Husam Barakat – Roya TV) – 7th place

  • Morocco (Mostafa Badri – Almountakhab) – 6th place

  • Nigeria (Samm Audu – scorenigeria) – 7th place

  • Paraguay (Rubén Darío Da Rosa – Tigo Sports / Telefuturo) – 6th place

  • Peru (Carlos Salinas – Diario Líbero) – 7th place

  • Portugal (António Tadeia – RTP / Substack) – 6th place

  • Czech Republic (Stanislav Hrabě – Ruik Football) – 10th place

  • Thailand (Urai Patoommawatana – Main Stand / T-Sports7) – 7th place

  • Ukraine (Igor Linnyk – FootClub) – 9th place

Furthermore, two members of the jury did not even place Kane in the top ten in their votes.

Jury members who did not place Harry Kane in the top ten for the 2026 Men’s Ballon d'Or:

  • Ivory Coast (Adam Khalil – sport-ivoire.ci)

  • Mexico (Salvador Aguilera – Deportes CNN)

Despite the differing rankings, Kane finished top of the voting with 1,055 points and won the award.

The only Portuguese player in Tadeia’s top 10 was Nuno Mendes. The Paris Saint-Germain left-back, in his first nomination for the award, came eighth in the journalist’s ranking.

António Tadeia’s other choices

António Tadeia also took part in the voting for Manager of the Season – Men’s Teams and Goalkeeper of the Season.

For the first award, he chose Luis Enrique, who led Paris Saint-Germain to their second consecutive Champions League title. As for best goalkeeper, his choice was David Raya, a key figure in Arsenal’s first Premier League title in 22 years.

Both finished in second place in their respective categories, behind key figures in Spain’s World Cup-winning campaign: manager Luis de la Fuente and goalkeeper Unai Simón.

Interestingly, Simón did not feature in Tadeia’s top three. The journalist chose Raya in first place, Paris Saint-Germain’s Matvey Safonov in second, and Real Madrid’s Thibaut Courtois in third.

Sara Salgueira’s picks for the Women’s Ballon d'Or

In the women’s category, Sara Salgueira chose Alexia Putellas as the winner, placing Patri Guijarro in second place and Caroline Graham Hansen in third.

Her prediction proved correct: Putellas won the Ballon d'Or with 618 points.

Sara Salgueira’s top ten picks for the 2026 Women’s Ballon d'Or:

  1. Alexia Putellas (Barcelona / Spain)

  2. Patri Guijarro (Barcelona / Spain)

  3. Caroline Graham Hansen (Barcelona / Norway)

  4. Ewa Pajor (Barcelona / Poland)

  5. Clàudia Pina (Barcelona / Spain)

  6. Esmee Brugts (Barcelona / Netherlands)

  7. Selma Bacha (OL Lyonnes / France)

  8. Wendie Renard (OL Lyonnes / France)

  9. Melchie Dumornay (OL Lyon / Haiti)

  10. Barbra Banda (Orlando Pride / Zambia)

Futebol Feminino em Portugal, a website with which Sara collaborates, has been part of the official Ballon d'Or jury since 2022. She took over the management of the project in 2021 and has already spoken about the importance of representing Portugal in the vote: “Representing my country in this vote is more than just recognition; it is an opportunity to contribute to the growth of women’s football around the world.” (Cabine Desportiva)

Sara Salgueira’s other choices

In the other two categories in which she took part, Salgueira 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.

Luís Figo and the Young Talent vote

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.

Portugal also had a representative in this process: Luís Figo, winner of the Ballon d'Or in 2000.

Cristiano Ronaldo, a five-time winner of the award, was one of three living former winners who did not take part in the vote, alongside Michel Platini and Zinédine Zidane.

How did Luís Figo vote for the Young Male Talent of the Season award?

Luís Figo’s three picks for the 2026 Young Male Talent of the Season award:

  1. Lamine Yamal (Barcelona / Spain)

  2. Pau Cubarsí (Barcelona / Spain)

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

Figo’s first-place pick also ended up being the winner. Lamine Yamal won the trophy with 96 points, securing his third consecutive victory in the category.

As for the women’s young talent award, no Portuguese journalists or former players took part in the vote. The winner was Vicky López, of Barcelona, for the second consecutive season.

Portugal also made its mark

From the main individual categories to the young talent awards, Portugal was represented at various stages of the selection process for the world’s best.

The choices of the Portuguese representatives did not always match the final results, but every vote helped paint a picture of a season marked by outstanding performances and achievements.

After all, the Ballon d'Or doesn’t just celebrate those who take to the stage to lift the trophy. It also celebrates the different perspectives of those who follow, analyse and recognise football throughout the entire season.