Alexia Putellas Defies All Odds, Clinches 2026 Ballon d'Or Féminin in Stunning Comeback Triumph

Alexia Putellas kept the Ballon d'Or Féminin firmly in Spanish hands, taking home the 2026 award on Monday evening at the London Palladium in the city she now proudly calls home.

The last recipient of the Ballon d'Or Féminin who wasn't Alexia Putellas or Aitana Bonmatí remains USWNT legend Megan Rapinoe, who claimed the honor back in 2019.

Bonmatí had no chance of securing a fourth consecutive Ballon d'Or—a feat only Lionel Messi (2009–2012) has ever accomplished in the entire history of either men's or women's football—due to a serious injury that kept her sidelined for close to six months last season.

Yet this feels like the perfect redemption story for Putellas, four years removed from her back-to-back Ballon d'Or victories in 2021 and 2022, as well as the ACL rupture that once threatened to end her reign at the very pinnacle of the sport.

The injury struck on the eve of the 2022 European Championship in England, and Spain felt her absence deeply in what became a tale of missed opportunity. La Roja came agonizingly close to the semifinals before falling victim to a late England fightback. Putellas sat out most of the following season at Barcelona and played only a minor role for Spain during their triumphant 2023 World Cup campaign.

While the spotlight in recent years has shone brightly on Bonmatí, Putellas has been quietly rebuilding her legacy. Last season, she led Barcelona to an unprecedented quadruple—something that had somehow escaped the club until that point. Her final act with the side she had represented for 14 years was hoisting the Champions League trophy in Oslo, Norway, after dismantling fierce rivals OL Lyon 4–0.

Over the past summer, Putellas reflected that her "mentality changed" as a direct result of the injury.

"Since then, I've been living, enjoying everything as it was the last," she told The Athletic. "My first goal after the injury was to compete again at the highest level, then to be able to be key in the squad again and then to win everything. Only three seasons after my ACL injury, all of that happened."

Taking the approach of recruiting rather than competing against her, OL owner Michele Kang moved decisively. Putellas, 32 and out of contract at Barcelona, put pen to paper with Kang's other club, London City Lionesses—marking an exciting new chapter in the closing stages of a career that has defined an era.

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