Spain's Alexia Potias was crowned the 2026 Women's Ballon d'Or during the ceremony held Monday in the British capital, London, raising her tally to 3 awards and equaling the achievement of her compatriot and former colleague Aitana Bonmatti, who monopolized the award during the past three years.
According to the French newspaper "L'Equipe", Botias, 32 years old, regained the award that she had previously won in 2021 and 2022, after finishing fourth in the 2025 edition, to return to the podium after an exceptional season she presented with Barcelona, Spain, before moving last summer to London City Lionesses, England.
Botias' coronation came in the absence of 28-year-old Bonmati from the list of 30 candidates for the award, after an injury kept her out of a large part of the season and prevented her from defending the title, which she won three times in a row in 2023, 2024 and 2025, making her the first player in the history of the award to achieve this achievement.
Botias played a busy season with Barcelona during 2025-2026, during which she contributed to the team winning 4 titles: the Spanish League, the Queen’s Cup, the Spanish Super Cup, and the Women’s Champions League.
The Spanish midfielder won the Champions League Best Player award, after scoring 7 goals and providing 7 assists in the tournament, while her total score during the season reached 25 goals and 14 assists with the Spanish club and national team.
Botias received widespread support in the Spanish and English-speaking media, especially after her move to the English Premier League last summer, which strengthened her international presence in the award race.
The Spanish star received the Ballon d'Or from Englishman Michael Owen, who won the award in 2001, making her equal to Bonmati in the number of crowns, with 3 awards for each of them.
Botias outvoted Polish Barcelona striker Ewa Bjor, who came in second place, while Jamaican Khadija Shaw, Manchester City player, came in third place.
Haitian Melchi Dumornay, Olympique Lyonnais player, came in fourth place, despite entering the race among the most prominent candidates to compete for the award.
As for French players, Wendy Renard was the highest ranked player, occupying 14th place, while Salma Pasha came in 20th place, and Melvyn Mallar ranked 28th.
With her third coronation, Botias confirmed her position among the most prominent women's football players in the world, after she succeeded in regaining the award 4 years after her previous victory, ending Bonmati's series of victories, and strengthening the presence of Spanish players in the history of the Ballon d'Or.
Michael Carrick, the coach of the English football team Manchester United, arrived at the Carrington training center early Tuesday morning, in light of continuing uncertainty about his future with the team.
Manchester United has not yet issued any comment regarding its coach’s position, after club officials held meetings at the training center on Monday to discuss his situation.
The British news agency (PA Media) reported that the former midfielder, who is very popular among the team’s fans, not only calmed the situation after the turbulent period spent by Ruben Amorim; Rather, he also contributed to changing the team's course, as he took over coaching the team last January, and led it to rise to third place in the English Premier League.
Carrick's distinguished period culminated in him being granted a two-year contract to continue leading United, but after only 5 months he became threatened with dismissal following the 3-0 loss to Bournemouth at Old Trafford last Sunday.
Discussions were held regarding the team’s technical situation following that defeat, and continued yesterday (Monday), with the participation of Omar Berrada, the club’s CEO, and Jason Wilcox, the director of football.
Carrick headed to the Carrington Center shortly before two o'clock in the afternoon on Monday, to watch a friendly match without an audience for United's under-21 team, against Hull City, the team that caused a disastrous start to Manchester United's season in the English Premier League.
The coach left the training center shortly before 5 p.m., after spending about 3 hours there, shortly after Wilcox left.
Uncertainty still surrounds the future of Carrick, who arrived at the training center early this morning (Tuesday), before United players returned to training after having a day of rest.
Berrada and Wilcox arrived at Carrington shortly thereafter.
Eddie Howe and Julian Nagelsmann stand out among the names nominated to succeed the coach, who is facing increasing pressure, after his team was unable to achieve any wins in the last 8 matches, and its loss to Bournemouth came a few days after it fell 1-4 to Como in the Champions League.
United achieved only two victories in the 12 matches it played in various competitions this season, while its tally of 7 points from the first 8 matches represents its worst start to a season since 1986.
Carrick avoided answering questions about his future following the loss to Bournemouth, and merely greeted the fans and placed his hand on his chest as he left the field, while the fans chanted his name in support of him.
Old Trafford fans instead directed their anger at the Glazer family, which owns the club, co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe, and Ineos management, including football director Wilcox.
The players were subjected to boos at the end of the match, and then faced greater anger as they headed to the tunnel leading to the dressing rooms behind Carrick, in a match during which the coach kept team captain Bruno Fernandes on the bench.
Manchester United occupies sixteenth place in the English Premier League, only one point ahead of the relegation places, before visiting Chelsea next Saturday, then entering the international break, which precedes two matches at home against Roma and Aston Villa.
Harry Kane, the striker of the German football team Bayern Munich, described winning the “Golden Ball” award yesterday (Monday) as an achievement beyond his “wildest dreams,” before he pledged to try to win the award again next year.
Kane's victory in the 70th edition of the "Golden Ball" award was widely welcomed, during a ceremony held at the "London Palladium" theater. Cheers rose with great enthusiasm when former Brazilian striker Ronaldo announced the name of the captain of the England national team.
The British news agency (PA Media) reported that Kane's exceptional season in 2025-2026 contributed to the 33-year-old player surpassing Kylian Mbappe and Lamine Yamal, and winning the prestigious award.
During that season, Kane scored 73 goals for his club and country, won two titles with Bayern Munich, and led England to third place in the World Cup.
Kane became the first English player to win the award presented by France Football magazine since Michael Owen in 2001, adding a new chapter to an exceptional career that began with Arsenal rejecting him, and his going through several difficult loan experiences, before achieving his late breakthrough with Tottenham, his childhood club.
After Kane followed in the footsteps of Stanley Matthews, Bobby Charlton, Kevin Keegan and Owen, to win the “Golden Ball”, he pledged to strive to retain the award after 12 months.
“My heart was beating so fast, I was just hoping my name would be said,” Ken said. I mean: what a legend! Ronaldo was one of my role models when I was young, so presenting the award to me makes the dream come true.”
He added: “Honestly, I feel a lot of wonderful emotions, and it is special to share these moments with my friends and family who are here. Yes, I can say it is a dream come true, but it is beyond my wildest dreams.”
He continued: “I talked about my doctor, Alejandro (Eloriaga Clarco). “We work together a lot.”
He explained: “We spend a long time together alone, inside the room, and on the treatment table, with needles, and all those sacrifices, and (sauna) sessions and ice baths. “It's a time I wish I could spend with my kids, my family and my wife, but it's all part of the commitment.”
He said: “To reach the highest levels, you have to sacrifice some time and some things, so this award is a reward for all these people in my life.”
He added: “The way I train and play, I always feel like I am fifteen or sixteen years old, and I have something I want to prove.”
He continued: “This is what led me to win this wonderful award. Even now, after winning it, I'm really thinking about the possibility of becoming better and trying to win it again. This will remain my mentality until the day I decide to retire from football.”
Kane was planning to celebrate his Ballon d'Or victory with his family and friends, but he did not intend to spend a loud night; He was scheduled to take a flight back to Munich this morning (Tuesday), before Bayern began training in the afternoon in preparation for facing Magdeburg tomorrow (Wednesday) in the German Cup.
The former Tottenham striker also avoided giving indications about his possible return to England, to chase Alan Shearer’s record for the number of goals in the English Premier League, saying: “Not at the moment, as I am enjoying my life at Bayern,” but he set his major goals for the coming years.
Keane said: “Being here in London was a good omen for me, as the wait has been too long. We have a lot of excellent English players. When I was young, I used to watch the greats of the game, and it is unfortunate that none of these players were able to win this award.”
He added: “Therefore, I feel very proud to bring England back to the forefront, and to be here holding this award.”
He continued: “I still have a lot to achieve in football, starting with winning the Champions League at the club level, all the way to winning a major title with the England national team. “This is definitely my top priority, and there are a lot of great achievements I want to achieve.”
