Alexia Putellas wins second successive women’s Ballon d’Or

Yolande Du Preez|Published 2 years ago

FC Barcelona's Spanish midfielder Alexia Putellas receives her second Woman Ballon d'Or award during the 2022 Ballon d'Or France Football award ceremony at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris on Monday FC Barcelona's Spanish midfielder Alexia Putellas receives her second Woman Ballon d’Or award during the award ceremony at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris on Monday. Pictureo: Franck Fife, AFP

Paris — Spain's Alexia Putellas won the women's Ballon d'Or for the second year running on Monday, the reward coming after a season in which she was the top scorer as her club Barcelona reached the Champions League final.

The 28-year-old Putellas saw off stiff competition, notably from three stars of the England team that won the European Championship, to take the award following a campaign which also saw Barcelona win a domestic league and cup double.

Back-to-back Women's Ballon d'Or, Alexia Putellas !#ballondor pic.twitter.com/UygJYBwyS9
— Ballon d'Or #ballondor (@francefootball) October 17, 2022

The prize, awarded at a star-studded ceremony at the Chatelet Theatre in central Paris, is a consolation for Putellas who is currently recovering from a serious knee injury.

The injury saw her miss the Euro in England in July and means she is unlikely to play at all this season.

Putellas scored 11 goals in the Champions League last season as holders Barcelona reached the final but lost to Lyon.

It is just the fourth time that a women's Ballon d'Or has been awarded, with Norway's Ada Hegerberg winning the inaugural prize in 2018 before United States superstar Megan Rapinoe succeeded her in 2019.

There was no Ballon d'Or gala in 2020 due to the pandemic before Putellas won it for the first time last year after helping Barca to Women's Champions League glory for the first time in their history.

Putellas had already won the UEFA player of the year prize in August.

Karim Benzema of Real Madrid went on to win the men's prize later in the evening which was almost a certainty; however, the identity of the women's winner appeared far less certain.

Beth Mead had been a leading contender after scoring six goals for England on their run to Euro glory on home soil, their first major tournament victory.

Her England teammates Lucy Bronze and Millie Bright had also been nominated, as had Hegerberg, who helped Lyon beat Barcelona in the Champions League final.

AFP