Ballon d'Or 2026: Pere Romeu and Luis de la Fuente win Coach of the Year awards

Spain head coach Luis de la Fuente and FC Barcelona Femeni boss Pere Romeu were named the Men's and Women's Coaches of the Year at the Ballon d'Or 2026 ceremony at the London Palladium on October 26, 2026.

The awards conferred were the Johan Cruyff Trophy, presented annually to the best-performing head coaches in men's and women's football. The winners were presented on the touchline during the Ballon d'Or 2026 award ceremony, alongside the ceremony's individual player accolades. The prize was introduced to recognise the achievements of top managers and to honour them for leading their club to success. Luis Enrique, last year's recipient, was among this year's nominees; the men's shortlist also included Mikel Arteta, Luis de la Fuente, Unai Emery, Vincent Kompany and Luis Enrique, while the women's list featured Jonatan Giráldez, Andrée Jeglertz, Nils Nielsen, Pere Romeu and Elena Sadiku.

Luis de la Fuente was named Men's Coach of the Year after leading Spain to a 1-0 victory over Argentina in the final, helping Spain secure their second FIFA World Cup. The World Cup triumph was added to a run that already included UEFA Euro 2024 and the 2022-23 UEFA Nations League during his tenure.

Pere Romeu was awarded the Women's Coach of the Year after guiding FC Barcelona Femeni to a clean sweep of available trophies. The 32-year-old Catalan coach led Barcelona to win all four major trophies open to them under his stewardship, completing what the organisers described as a flawless season.

José Mourinho was the first winner of the men's Coach of the Year award in 2010.