Five City players were shortlisted for the prestigious Women’s Ballon d’Or award – Kerstin Casparij, Vivianne Miedema, Bunny Shaw, Yui Hasegawa and Alex Greenwood – following a historic double-winning 2025/26.
Ayaka Yamashita was also nominated for Goalkeeper of the Year, Andrée Jeglertz was shortlisted for Coach of the Year while for the first time in our history, Manchester City Women were nominated for Club of the Year.
Here is how the night panned out for City…
Shortly before the ceremony began at the London Palladium on Monday evening, Vivianne Miedema was named joint 28th in the standings for the Ballon d’Or ranked equally with Chelsea forward Melvine Malard and Kansas City goalkeeper Lorena.
It was the Dutch international’s first nomination as a Blue and was thoroughly deserved in a campaign in which her football looked a little different.
Deployed in a slightly deeper role, Miedema tallied 15 WSL goal involvements in 19 appearances, once again showing her prowess in the final third after a near decade playing in England.
During some injury spells throughout the 2025/26 campaign, her experience and leadership off the pitch was also instrumental before her return in the final weeks of the campaign helped City secure our first WSL title in a decade.
Our skipper Alex Greenwood was named 26th. In another campaign where she continued to be a stalwart in blue, the England central defender epitomised leading by example.
Her energy, composure and desire to bring silverware back to City shone in every match. And a key aspect of her game that helped City go on to secure the Double was her superb dead ball prowess.
Greenwood created 15 chances from set pieces, making her the most influential defender in the WSL in that category.
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And the icing on the cake for our leader was a goal at Wembley as City went on to lift the FA Cup with a 4-0 win over Brighton.
Next to be announced was Kerstin Casparij who was placed 24th. An adopted Blue, the Dutch defender was another player who went above and beyond in the slightly adapted role asked of her by Jeglertz.
Casparij often proved to be an extra option in the final third, so much so the full-back went on to total seven assists, the most in the WSL last term.
Casparij also took on more leadership as vice-captain, leading the team on and off the pitch, with two of her most iconic performances in both Manchester derbies adding to what was an unforgettable season for her.
Yui Hasegawa placed 11th for the Japan international’s highest-ever finish at the Ballon d’Or. And it was just reward for another incredible campaign by the Japanese midfield ace.
Jeglertz opted to utilise Hasegawa’s ball-playing ability a little higher up the pitch and it proved an inspired move.
She ranked first in the WSL for open play sequences ending with a shot and for through balls, constantly carving open our opponents.
Off the ball, Hasegawa helped screen our backline, tallying the second highest number of interceptions in the league. And like the true professional she is, she carried this form onto the international stage as she played a key role in Japan’s 2026 Women’s Asian Cup glory.
Our highest ranked player on the night, and in City’s history, Bunny Shaw placed third after an incredible season leading City’s front line
shaw named third best player at ballon d’or
Andrée Jeglertz was shortlisted for Women’s Coach of the Year, Ayaka Yamashita was nominated for Goalkeeper of the Year and Manchester City Women were shortlisted for Club of the Year.
Those awards were won by Pere Romeu, Cata Coll and Barcelona Women respectively.
Everyone at Manchester City is extremely proud of all of City’s nominees and would like to congratulate everyone on the deserved recognition at the 2026 Ballon d’Or.
