Dalian Yingbo midfielder Nicolae Stanciu was named the 2026 Chinese Super League (CSL) Golden Ball winner at the Chinese Professional Football League's annual awards ceremony in Guangzhou, south China’s Guangdong Province, on Tuesday. The Romanian midfielder was a star performer for Dalian who claimed their first-ever league championship title. 

33-year-old Stanciu scored 10 goals and provided five assists in 27 appearances. The veteran previously won the Golden Ball in 2022 while playing for former club Wuhan Three Towns.

Dalian collected two other major individual honors, with Li Guoxu receiving the Golden Coach award and Mao Weijie being named the Golden Boy.

Li guided the club to the championship just two years after securing promotion to the top flight. The club finished the season with five consecutive victories, overtaking Chengdu Rongcheng in the final round to bring Dalian its first top-flight league title in 21 years.

Beijing Guoan striker Zhang Yuning took home both the Domestic Golden Ball and Domestic Golden Boot awards. The 29-year-old scored 15 goals and registered seven assists in 29 league appearances, finishing as the competition's leading Chinese goalscorer.

Yunnan Yukun forward Oscar Maritu received the overall Golden Boot after scoring 23 goals in 30 matches. The 27-year-old finished one goal ahead of Wuhan striker Jhonder Cádiz.

Zhejiang midfielder Alexandru Mitrita won the award for most assists with 15, while Shanghai Shenhua's Gao Tianyi was recognized as the leading domestic assist-provider with 11.

Guoan goalkeeper Hou Sen received the Golden Glove award after recording 12 clean sheets in 27 appearances.

The ceremony also recognized the season's Best XI, featuring Stanciu, Zhang, Oscar, Mitriță and Hou, alongside Yang Xi, Mamadou, Zhu Chenjie, Hu Hetao, Wang Yudong and Felipe.

The 2026 CSL season concluded on November 8, with Dalian's championship triumph providing a dramatic finish to the campaign.