The icon was back to her best when it mattered most.
The 2026 Ballon d’Or ceremony takes place at the end of October and the strongest candidate to win the award on the women’s side is London City Lionesses midfielder Alexia Putellas.
If Putellas does indeed win her third career Ballon d’Or, it will be for the work done prior to her high-profile move to England this summer, as she was the centerpiece of a historical season for Barcelona Femení and was also crucial to Spain’s success in the 2025-26 season.
Putellas’s departure after 14 years at Barcelona ended a glorious chapter for a player who put Barça’s women’s team on the map. They became a dynasty in the 2020s and her final season was a beautiful reminder of her special quality and leadership.
The Catalans missed their best player and reigning three-time Ballon d’Or winner Aitana Bonmatí through injury for almost the entire season. Putellas had the responsibility of leading Barça as they sought to maintain their dominance put on her.
She did just that making 43 appearances while staying injury-free after battling physical issues for the previous two seasons. Putellas finished the season with 20 goals and 13 assists in all competitions as Barça secured a historic quadruple of the Champions League, Liga F, Copa de la Reina and Spanish Super Cup.
Putellas saved her best for the biggest games, with dominant performances in El Clásico against Real Madrid and an outstanding display in the Champions League semi-final second leg against Bayern Munich at Camp Nou scoring two goals.
She was also instrumental in Spain’s success last season, as La Roja won the 2025 Nations League with a dominant victory over Germany in Madrid last December. Putellas was named MVP of the tournament, and capped off a great year with the national team that also included a run to the final of the 2025 Euros.
As Putellas moves into a different stage of her career with a move to England with the goal of serving as the veteran on-field leader of an ambitious London City Lionesses project, her performances in the 2025-26 season were a reminder of just how special she is.
Alexia missed a lot of time due to a serious ACL injury in 2022 and saw her Barça and Spain teammate Aitana Bonmatí rise to undisputed world’s best player status. There was doubt about whether Putellas could ever return to the same level showed prior to the injury.
But Putellas worked hard, stayed healthy for a full season and offered a glorious reminder of her special talent as the captain and leader of a historic Barça team. It’s hard to see anyone beating her to the Ballon d’Or, and she will be a very deserved winner if her name is announced on October 26.