Poland captain Ewa Pajor has finished second in the 2026 Women’s Ballon d’Or, securing the highest placing of her career in one of football’s most prestigious individual awards. The 29-year-old Barcelona striker was beaten only by Spain’s Alexia Putellas at Monday’s ceremony in London, capping a remarkable season in which she helped her club win four trophies, became the Women’s Champions League’s leading goalscorer and played a decisive role in the European final.
Pajor finished ahead of Jamaica international Khadija Shaw, who took third place, and a field featuring many of the biggest names in women’s football.
The result was confirmed in the official Ballon d’Or rankings, published following the ceremony on 26 October.
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It represents a considerable rise for the Polish forward, who finished eighth in the 2025 voting.
Her runner-up position is also a significant achievement for Polish women’s football, which has developed rapidly in recent years but has relatively little history of success at the highest international level.
The 34-goal season behind Pajor’s success
Pajor’s second-place finish followed an outstanding 2025/26 campaign with Barcelona.
According to her official Ballon d’Or player profile, she scored 34 goals and provided eight assists in 46 appearances across the season.
Her goals helped Barcelona secure the Spanish league title, Copa de la Reina, Spanish Super Cup and UEFA Women’s Champions League.
It was in Europe, however, that the Polish striker produced some of her most memorable performances.
Pajor scored 11 goals in the Women’s Champions League, finishing as the competition’s outright top scorer.
That placed her two goals ahead of Arsenal’s Alessia Russo, with Bayern Munich’s Pernille Harder third on eight.
The achievement was particularly significant because Pajor had previously finished as the competition’s top scorer while playing for German club Wolfsburg in 2022/23.
Her performances confirmed her reputation as one of Europe’s most effective goalscorers across different clubs and leagues.
Two goals in the Champions League final
The defining moment of Pajor’s season came on 23 May, when Barcelona faced OL Lyonnes in the Women’s Champions League final in Oslo.
The Polish forward scored twice as Barcelona won 4–0, securing the club’s fourth European title.
After a goalless first half, Pajor opened the scoring in the 55th minute, finishing a move created by midfielder Patri Guijarro.
She added another goal in the 69th minute, putting Barcelona firmly in control.
Salma Paralluelo scored twice late in the match to complete the victory.
Pajor also contributed an assist for Barcelona’s fourth goal.
The official UEFA match report confirms that Pajor was named Player of the Match.
The result carried particular emotional significance for the Polish striker.
She had previously experienced defeat in five Women’s Champions League finals, including appearances with Wolfsburg and Barcelona.
The victory in Oslo finally gave her the European title that had eluded her throughout much of her career.
It also provided one of the strongest arguments for her inclusion among the leading candidates for the 2026 Ballon d’Or.
Alexia Putellas wins her third Ballon d’Or
The women’s award ultimately went to Alexia Putellas, who claimed the trophy for the third time.
The Spanish midfielder previously won in 2021 and 2022.
Putellas played alongside Pajor at Barcelona during the 2025/26 season before joining English club London City Lionesses ahead of the current campaign.
According to UEFA’s official announcement of the award, Putellas scored seven goals and provided seven assists during Barcelona’s victorious European campaign.
She was also named UEFA Women’s Champions League Player of the Season.
The Ballon d’Or result therefore placed two players from Barcelona’s European title-winning team in the top two positions, despite Putellas having subsequently changed clubs.
Manchester City striker Khadija Shaw completed the podium.
The 2026 women’s top five was:
| Position | Player | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alexia Putellas | Spain |
| 2 | Ewa Pajor | Poland |
| 3 | Khadija Shaw | Jamaica |
| 4 | Melchie Dumornay | Haiti |
| 5 | Patri Guijarro | Spain |
Barcelona was also named Women’s Club of the Year, while its coach Pere Romeu received the Women’s Coach of the Year award.
The ceremony took place in London for the first time in the competition’s history.
From a small Polish town to the top of European football
Pajor’s career began far from the major stadiums where she now competes.
Born in Uniejów in central Poland in December 1996, she developed her football skills with local club Orlęta Wielenin before joining Medyk Konin.
She made her senior Polish league debut as a teenager and quickly established herself as an exceptional goalscorer.
In 2015, she moved to Germany to join Wolfsburg, one of the leading clubs in European women’s football.
During nine seasons in Germany, she won five Bundesliga titles and nine German Cups, while helping Wolfsburg regularly challenge for the Champions League.
Her performances eventually led to a move to Barcelona in 2024.
Pajor’s first season with the Catalan club brought 43 goals in 46 appearances, according to Barcelona’s official player biography.
That goalscoring record earned her the Women’s Gerd Müller Trophy at the 2025 Ballon d’Or ceremony.
The award recognised her attacking achievements, although she finished eighth in the main women’s player ranking that year.
Twelve months later, her second-place finish places her even closer to football’s most celebrated individual honour.
What Pajor’s achievement means for Polish women’s football
Pajor’s success is particularly significant because of her role in the development of Poland’s women’s national team.
She has been the country’s all-time leading women’s goalscorer since 2022 and serves as national team captain.
As a teenager, she helped Poland win the UEFA European Women’s Under-17 Championship in 2013.
More than a decade later, she led the senior national team to its first appearance at the Women’s European Championship.
Poland qualified for UEFA Women’s EURO 2025 in Switzerland, marking a historic breakthrough for a country that had never previously reached the women’s continental finals.
Although Poland lost its opening two group matches against Germany and Sweden, the team finished with a 3–2 victory over Denmark.
Pajor scored in that match, helping Poland secure its first victory at a major senior women’s tournament.
The UEFA account of her international career highlights her role in that progress.
Her success at Barcelona has also helped raise the profile of Polish women’s football internationally.
For younger Polish players, Pajor provides an example of a footballer who developed through domestic clubs before establishing herself in Germany and Spain.
Her Ballon d’Or result illustrates how far an individual Polish player can progress in the global women’s game.
Among the world’s best
The Ballon d’Or has become one of football’s most recognisable individual awards.
The women’s prize was introduced in 2018, with winners chosen through a voting process involving specialist journalists.
Finishing second does not give Pajor the trophy, but it establishes her position among the highest-ranked players in world football for the 2026 awards.
Her season combined prolific goalscoring with collective success at the highest level of European club competition.
She scored 34 goals across the campaign, finished as the Champions League’s leading goalscorer and delivered two goals in a final that secured Barcelona’s European title.
The result also continues a series of major achievements for Polish footballers on the international stage.
For Pajor, the next challenge will be maintaining those standards with Barcelona and Poland.
But whatever follows, the 2026 Ballon d’Or ranking has already given her a notable place in the history of Polish women’s football.
