Harry Kane and Alexia Putellas Named Predicted Ballon d'Or Winners in ESPN Simulation

ESPN journalists predicted Harry Kane and Alexia Putellas as the 2026 Ballon d'Or winners, with Kane recording 73 goals in 65 matches for England and Bayern Munich.

ESPN journalists simulated the Ballon d'Or voting process ahead of the October 26 ceremony in London, selecting Harry Kane as the predicted men's winner. Kane received half of the first-place votes after a season where he recorded 81 combined goals and assists, including 73 goals in 65 matches for Bayern Munich and England. The simulation utilized a panel of 20 global journalists using the official 15-12-10-8-6 point scoring system for top-five ballots.

Kylian Mbappé and Lionel Messi also received first-place votes in the men's category. Mbappé finished as the all-time leading scorer in World Cup history with 22 goals, including 10 during the 2026 tournament. Messi, at age 39, earned votes following a season where he won the MLS Cup with Inter Miami CF. Other first-place votes went to Lamine Yamal, Rodri, and Fabián Ruiz, the latter of whom won the Champions League with PSG and the World Cup with Spain.

In the Ballon d'Or Féminin simulation, Alexia Putellas emerged as the predicted winner. Before joining London City Lionesses, Putellas captained Barcelona to a quadruple consisting of Liga F, the UEFA Women's Champions League, Copa de la Reina, and the Supercopa de España. She recorded 20 goals and 14 assists in 43 games during that campaign. Ewa Pajor also received top votes after scoring 11 goals to finish as the Champions League top scorer.

Additional simulation results placed Lamine Yamal as the top choice for the Kopa Trophy and Unai Simón as the leading candidate for the Yashin Trophy. Barcelona’s Pere Romeu and Spain’s Luis de la Fuente were selected as the top coaches for the women’s and men’s categories, respectively.