Charlyn Corral, the Mexican star who shone at the Ballon d'Or gala
She played in a World Cup as a teenager, won the Pichichi in Spain and lifted a title with Pachuca. Her Forward of the Year award came after a journey full of goals and a serious injury.
Charlyn Corral received the Forward of the Year award at the 2026 Ballon d'Or gala in London. Behind that night is a career that took her through the United States, Finland and Spain, and that got a new boost with Pachuca.
At 14, she was already playing in the 2006 U-20 World Cup in Russia. She later represented Mexico at the senior World Cups in Germany 2011 and Canada 2015.
At the club level, she played for the University of Louisville in the United States and spent time with Finland's Merilappi United in 2014. A year later she joined Levante, where she reached one of her biggest milestones: the Pichichi for the 2017-18 season, with 24 goals.
Atlético Madrid signed her in 2019. In 2020, however, she tore the anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee, an injury that required surgery and put her career on hold.
In 2021 she returned to Mexico to join Pachuca. With the Tuzas, she became the team's all-time leading scorer and helped win its first Liga MX Femenil title, in the Clausura 2025.
The honor she received on Oct. 26 added another achievement to a career spanning more than two decades. In accepting it, Charlyn thanked her teammates, her club and her family.
“The work, the discipline and the effort have been worth it,” she said on stage.
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