Alexia Putellas retains Women’s Ballon d’Or

Barcelona captain Alexia Putellas has retained the Women’s Ballon d’Or by being crowned the best women’s football player of 2022.

Despite not playing for Spain at The Women’s European Championships this summer due to an anterior cruciate ligament injury she suffered just before the tournament. The 28-year-old midfielder has still been awarded the best women’s player in the world.

Last season for Barca out of the 30 league games they played, Putellas scored 18 goals and grabbed 15 assists in 26 appearances, which helped her side win the Spanish league title for the third season running.

And before her injury the midfielder was Barca’s top scorer in the Women’s Champions League with 10 goals in 11 games.

Putellas twice played and scored in front of record-breaking crowds of more than 90,000 fans at the Nou Camp in the Champions League quarter-final and semi-final, where she captained her side to victories. She also scored in the final, but unfortunately for her and her teammates they were denied a second consecutive title, after losing 3-1 to the most successful Women’s Champions League team in history, Olympique Lyon.

On winning the award Putellas said: “I’m very happy to be back here, a year ago I was able to win this prize and it pushed me to want to get even better.

“Without my team-mates this wouldn’t have been possible. I want to thank the technical staff and the coach as well. And to thank everyone involved at the club off the pitch.”

Arsenal striker Beth Mead, who scored 11 goals and grabbed 8 assists in 22 league appearances last season and who was also named the Euro 2022 player of the tournament and was the golden boot winner of the tournament came in second place.

And Chelsea’s Sam Kerr who scored 20 goals in 20 league games for the blues last season came in third for the second consecutive year.

Special mentions must also go to Lionesses defenders Lucy Bronze and Millie Bright who were also nominated. Bronze finished in 10th place while Bright finished in 15th.

The top 10 in the Women’s Ballon d’Or were as follows:

1. Alexia Putellas (Barcelona / Spain, midfielder)

2. Beth Mead (Arsenal / England, forward)

3. Sam Kerr (Chelsea / Australia, forward)

4. Lena Oberdorf (Wolfsburg / Germany, midfielder)

5. Aitana Bonmati (Barcelona / Spain, midfielder)

6. Alex Popp (Wolfsburg / Germany, forward)

7. Ada Hegerberg (Lyon /Norway, forward)

8. Wendie Renard (Lyon / France, defender)

9. Catarina Macario (Lyon / United States, midfielder)

10. Lucy Bronze (Barcelona / England, defender)

 

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