Ewa Pajor finishes second in Ballon d'Or vote as Alexia Putellas wins

Ewa Pajor finished second in the vote for the women's Ballon d'Or. The result was announced at a gala in London on Monday 26 October 2026. Spain's Alexia Putellas won, and Shaw came third.

Best result of her career

This is Pajor's biggest success in the award. She was eighth in the previous edition, and before that she ranked 18th and 29th. Eurosport notes that second place matches what Robert Lewandowski achieved in the men's vote.

Putellas won the Ballon d'Or for the third time. She had previously won in 2021 and 2022. She moved from FC Barcelona to London City Lionesses in the summer.

Pajor's numbers

Pajor had an outstanding season. With Barcelona she won the Spanish league title, the national cup and the Spanish Super Cup, and she also won the Women's Champions League. She was the competition's top scorer with 11 goals, including two in the final.

In 46 club and international matches she scored 34 goals and made eight assists. Putellas played 53 matches, scored 26 goals and made 15 assists. She was, however, named the best player of the Champions League. According to Eurosport, in 10 matches this season in England London City Lionesses has scored three goals and made one assist.

Reactions after the gala

Some commentators believe the Spaniard's greater profile decided the result. Tomasz Włodarczyk of Meczyki.pl said Pajor "lost out on popularity" to Putellas. Tomasz Hatta of iGol.pl spoke of a sense of disappointment despite the historic result.

According to the Sportowe Fakty description, Poland head coach Nina Patalon told "Fakt" that Pajor deserved to win. We could not access the interview itself.

Eurosport recalls that Pajor's goals have moved the Poland team closer to a place in the fight for the World Cup. Poland are still in contention in qualifying.