Barcelona midfielder Alexia Putellas has won the 2022 Women’s Ballon d’Or for the second time in a row after beating Arsenal’s Beth Mead, with Chelsea’s Sam Kerr coming in third.
Putellas made history by becoming the first female player to win the award back-to-back after claiming the coveted prize last year.
The 28-year-old suffered an ACL injury in the summer, forcing her to miss the Euro 2022 which England won.
Putellas scored 18 goals with 15 assists for Barca last season, winning the Spanish League and Spanish cup titles.
Putellas said she’s very happy to be back to Paris, while adding that her recovery is “going well” and “not a battle that is won just yet.”
“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,” she said.
“I want to thank the technical staff and the coach as well. And to thank everyone involved at the club off the pitch,” added Putellas.
2022 Women’s Ballon d’Or ranking in full
1. Alexia Putellas (Barcelona and Spain, midfielder)
2. Beth Mead (Arsenal and England, forward)
3. Sam Kerr (Chelsea and Australia, forward)
4. Lena Oberdorf (Wolfsburg and Germany, midfielder)
5. Aitana Bonmati (Barcelona and Spain, midfielder)
6. Alex Popp (Wolfsburg and Germany, forward)
7. Ada Hegerberg (Lyon andNorway, forward)
8. Wendie Renard (Lyon and France, defender)
9. Catarina Macario (Lyon and United States, midfielder)
10. Lucy Bronze (Barcelona and England, defender)
11. Vivianne Miedema (Arsenal and Netherlands, forward)
12. Christiane Endler (Lyon and Chile, goalkeeper)
13. Alex Morgan (San Diego Wave and United States, forward)
14. Selma Bacha (Lyon and France, defender)
15. Millie Bright (Chelsea and England, defender)
16. Asisat Oshoala (Barcelona and Nigeria, forward)
17. Marie-Antoinette Katoto (Paris St-Germain and France, forward)
18. Trinity Rodman (Washington Spirit and United States, forward)
19. Fridolina Rolfo (Barcelona and Sweden, midfielder)
20. Kadidiatou Diani (Paris St-Germain and France, forward)
