Alexia Putellas picked up her third Ballon d’Or Féminin on the night of October 26th 2026 at London’s Palladium. The 32-year-old Spanish captain had led Barcelona to a quadruple last season, winning Liga F, Copa de la Reina, Supercopa and fourth UEFA Women’s Champions League. However, she has since left her childhood club to join London City Lionesses. The award also puts her level with her ex-teammate Aitana Bonmatí for the most Ballons d’Or Féminin awarded in the short history of the trophy, and means Spain have now won the trophy for the sixth year in a row.
The award is testament to a career that has pushed women’s football forward. Having won numerous awards, she has been a technically gifted captain, overcome career threatening injuries and pushed to ensure the women’s game is taken as seriously as the men’s.
Born Alèxia Putellas i Segura on the 4th February 1994 in Mollet del Vallès, just north of Barcelona, she was a lifelong fan of Blaugrana. Her father Jaume Putellas Rota took her to watch and train. Her mother Eli Segura and sister Alba completed a close-knit family. She started playing serious football aged seven for CE Sabadell. She had a short spell at Barcelona’s youth academy but then had a move to Espanyol. This saw her make her senior debut aged 16. She had a standout season with Levante (scoring 15 goals in 34 games), however, this saw her move back in 2012.
Unfortunately, her father had passed away around the age of 50 due to illness that year. She has often spoke about how she felt he was there for her during key points in her life, and she dedicated her first Ballon d’Or to her father. Despite this sad event, it pushed her forward and over the next fourteen seasons she became the all-time top scorer for Barcelona Femení with 232 goals in 508 games. She is second only to Melanie Serrano for the most games played. She has also won around 38 trophies, including 10 Liga F titles and 4 Champions Leagues.
She had her best years during this period. In the 20/21 season she captained Barcelona to their first ever Champions League win and the treble. She scored and assisted in the 4-0 final win over Chelsea. During this season she won the Ballon d’Or Féminin, The Best FIFA Women’s Player and UEFA Women’s Player of the Year in the same season. Becoming the first man or woman to do so. She repeated this in 2022, however, suffered a torn ACL ahead of the European Championships.
Many players would see their careers decline after this injury, however, Putellas came back. She contributed to Spain winning the World Cup in 2023 (although in a limited role). She scored in the Champions League final in 2024. By 2025/26, she was back in her creative role. Despite Bonmatí being out for months, she scored 21 goals and provided 13 assists in all competitions. She scored 7 goals and provided 7 assists in the Champions League, winning Player of the Season as Barcelona won another quadruple. She is known as La Reina (The Queen) due to her outstanding vision, left foot and calmness reminiscent of the great midfielders in the men’s team.
Internationally she is Spain’s most capped outfield player, with over 150 caps. She has scored over 40 goals, making her one of the top scorers in the nation. She has won the World Cup in 2023 and UEFA Women’s Nations League in 2024 and 2025, captaining the team in 2025. At club level she became the first player from a Women’s Super League club to win the Ballon d’Or in 2026 after joining London City Lionesses this summer.
Whilst her career has grown, there are still inequalities within women’s football. She is estimated to have a net worth of between $5-7million. Whilst at Barcelona she earned around €700-800k per year. She has seen a significant increase in her pay with London City. Some sources say she has earned around €1m per year, however, overall she earns almost €2m per year. She has long had a large income from brand deals with Nike, Vodafone, Visa, Allianz and more. In 2023 Forbes estimated she earned around $3.2million from her brand deals in one year. She has also invested in property in the Barcelona area and has started media projects focusing on women’s football.
Away from football, Putellas is quite a private person. She is not married or has any children. She had a high profile relationship with Olga Ríos (Influencer/Talent Manager) which lasted a few years but ended in 2025. They have kept details to a minimum. She has studied business administration at Pompeu Fabra University (although took a break for football). She has also used her platform to encourage girls to play the sport. This contrast between the trophy lifting dazzling dress wearing star and the shy Catalan has made her appealing.
Her move to London City shows how she is willing to challenge herself. Despite being 32, she is no longer the obvious face of one club, however, this Ballon d’Or shows she still has a lot of influence. The women’s game is growing fast. More people are attending games, bigger broadcasting deals and more professional routes. Putellas has shown that consistent brilliance is what defines the best, and you can leave your childhood club but not your standards.
The Queen may have moved countries, but she is still playing her left footed game to the best of her ability. This shows the next generation of players and fans that the work continues and standards remain high.
