The 33-year-old Bayern Munich striker is the fifth Englishman to win in total, with Stanley Matthews (1956), Bobby Charlton (1966) and Kevin Keegan (1978 and 1979) the others. Denis Law of Scotland (1964) and Northern Ireland's George Best (1968) are the other winners from the United Kingdom. Real Madrid and France forward Kylian Mbappe finished second, while Barcelona and Spain attacker Lamine Yamal completed the top three. "Not many people would have thought it, and maybe even I wouldn't have thought I'd be this far," Kane told Dazn. "I had to go through many ups and downs, especially early in my career. I was never the person that people thought was going to be the superstar like some of the guys now. "I had to bide my time and work hard, a lot of times it was me against my own mind and I had to come through it, I had to show self-belief, determination. "I think that grounded me even when I did make it at the highest level to keep improving and keep getting better." England manager Thomas Tuchel said he was "delighted" to see Kane win the award as he hailed the forward's success as a "huge honour". Prince William, meanwhile, said the former Tottenham Hotspur player was a "brilliant captain" and "remarkable player". Kane scored 61 goals in 51 club matches last season, the most a Bayern player has ever struck in one campaign. Including England matches, it was 73 goals - plus eight assists - in 65 matches. Only one player at a club in Europe's top five leagues has ever scored more goals in a season. But he wins it despite not lifting either of football's biggest prizes last season, having lost in both the World Cup and Champions League semi-finals. Remarkably the Three Lions captain becomes the first Bayern player to win the Ballon d'Or since Karl-Heinz Rummenigge in 1981. To celebrate Kane's success, the Wembley arches were lit up in gold on Monday night.

Spain midfielder Alexia Putellas has won the Ballon d'Or Feminin for a record-equalling third time, keeping the prize in Spanish hands for a sixth consecutive year. Putellas, 32, captained Barcelona to Champions League glory as part of a quadruple in 2025-26, before joining Women's Super League (WSL) side London City Lionesses in July. She joins Spain team-mate Aitana Bonmati on three Ballon d'Or Feminin crowns - her former Barcelona colleague won the award in 2023, 2024 and 2025 after Putellas did so in 2021 and 2022. The past six Ballons d'Or have been won by the Spanish pair, with Norway's Ada Hegerberg (2018) and Megan Rapinoe of the United States (2019) the only non-Spaniards to claim the prize. Putellas' latest victory caps a remarkable return to the pinnacle of world football after suffering a career-threatening anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury in 2022. "All the boys and girls around the world - if you love football and if you want to play football, play football. It doesn't matter if you're a boy or if you're a girl," Putellas said. "Doesn't matter where you come from. Don't listen if someone tells you, you can't do it. Believe in yourself." She collected the most votes from an international panel of journalists across Fifa's top-50 ranked countries, with Barcelona striker Ewa Pajor coming second and Manchester City forward Khadija Shaw third. Meanwhile, England captain Harry Kane won the men's Ballon d'Or, becoming the first English player to do so since Michael Owen in 2001.

Barcelona were aiming to set an outright record for the most consecutive victories at the start of a Spanish top-flight season. However, Hansi Flick's side were unable to surpass the mark of nine straight wins set by the Real Madrid team of 1968-69. Mbappe's first goal four minutes before half-time was a fortuitous one; home defender Gerard Martin's attempted clearance of Yan Diomande's low cross flew in off the France striker past Joan Garcia. Both teams had created chances beforehand but the game really opened up in the period between Mbappe's opener and the interval, with Mbappe hitting the post and Barcelona teenager Lamine Yamal side-footing wide from close range at the other end. A Barcelona equaliser arrived 16 minutes into the second half as captain Raphinha collected Pedri's pass and shot through the legs of Jude Bellingham into the far corner. Martin almost made amends for his part in Real's goal shortly afterwards but his header was superbly clawed away one-handed by Andriy Lunin - who was starting in place of first-choice goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois with the Belgium international ruled out because of illness. When it seemed as though the points would be shared, some brilliant skill by Bellingham started a move on halfway, substitute Eduardo Camavinga broke forward and squared the ball for Mbappe to finish into an unguarded net. Visiting manager Jose Mourinho celebrated with a small knee slide by the dugout and a fist pump. League leaders Barcelona have a two-point lead over second-placed Atletico Madrid after 10 matches, with Real one point further back in third spot.

The Cherries were superb throughout and thoroughly deserving of their victory, which extended United's winless run to eight games. The pre-match narrative centered on Bruno Fernandes, with the United captain dropped to the substitutes bench after he blamed Carrick's tactics for their 4-1 defeat by Como on Wednesday - though the manager said it was a "football decision". But despite trailing 2-0 at half-time, Fernandes, so often United's talisman was not brought on. Fernandes watched on as his side laboured through the first half, creating little as Evanilson and Rayan spurned early opportunities for the visitors. The warning signs were there and the visitors eventually took the lead when a superb Justin Kluivert free-kick found an unmarked Rayan at the back post and he beat Senne Lammens with a well-taken volley. United's woes were compounded two minutes before half-time when an untimely Leny Yoro slip allowed Adrien Truffert to square for Marcus Tavernier to convert into the empty net. Boos greeted the half-time whistle, though some home fans did their best to encourage their players as they trudged down the tunnel. The offside flag denied Evanilson a third Bournemouth goal early in the second half, while Rayan shot straight at Lammens, with both chances coming from Ayden Heaven mistakes. Rayan wasted another chance to end the contest after a Lisandro Martinez stumble opened up a route to goal, but Evanilson eventually knocked in the third after more comedy defending. Evanilson raced on to a long clearance and nipped the ball past Lammens, who had come charging out of his penalty area, before curling the ball into an empty net. Bournemouth only won their first league game of the season last weekend, but have now won four consecutive games in all competitions. Defeat leaves United 16th in the table with seven points after eight Premier League games, while the Cherries climb to 13th.

Two goals in a five-minute first half spell - an own goal from Seagulls midfielder Pascal Gross followed by Alexander Isak's sixth goal of the season - put the Reds in control. They should have conceded before the goals came, but Brighton's Yasin Ayari fired wastefully over the top after a fine move from the visitors. Ayari's miss proved costly as Liverpool took a 17th-minute lead when Florian Wirtz's shot, which was going wide, was diverted into his own net by the unfortunate Gross. That was the first goal the Seagulls had conceded in the league since a 1-1 draw against Leeds on 5 September. Brighton's defence was breached again shortly after, when Bradley Barcola did superbly down the right wing to create a chance and his cross was met by Isak's cushioned volley to double the Reds' advantage. The visitors were nearly gifted a way back into the match when home goalkeeper Alisson lost possession when playing out for the back, but Ayari's shot rebounded off the foot of the right-hand post. Liverpool did enough to see out Andoni Iraola's first league win at Anfield as Reds boss - to follow two home Champions League victories and one in the Carabao Cup since he replaced the sacked Arne Slot in the summer. Brighton's loss was only their second in 13 matches in all competitions in 2026-27 and they stay third in the Premier League, with Liverpool moving up from fifth to fourth, one point behind the Seagulls.