Matildas captain Sam Kerr has finished second in the Ballon d’Or Féminin, the most prestigious individual award in football, while Lionel Messi won the men’s award for a record-extending eighth time.
Kerr has finished in the top 10 every year since the women’s award was founded in 2018, and finished third in both of the last two campaigns.
But the Chelsea superstar was this year pipped to the prize by Spanish superstar Aitana Bonmati, the standout player at the recent Women’s World Cup as she led her nation to victory.
25-year-old midfield maestro Bonmati also claimed a fourth-straight Spanish league title with Barcelona as well as the Women’s Champions League.
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Bonmati told journalists afterwards: “It is difficult to improve on this. It has honestly been a unique year.
“If anyone had said to me when I was little that I would play at the Camp Nou, win a World Cup, two Champions Leagues, a Ballon d’Or, a UEFA prize, extraordinary things have happened for me lately.”
Kerr led Chelsea to a domestic double last season with 29 goals in 38 appearances, and continued her record-breaking feats with the Matildas including captaining the side to a best-ever World Cup finish of fourth.
Fellow Matildas star Hayley Raso, now with Real Madrid, finished 17th in the polling, having racked up 11 goals and seven assists in 41 matches, starring for Manchester City before a big move to Real Madrid this off-season.
It was the first time two Australians had ever been nominated for football’s highest individual honour.
Messi famously claims eighth Ballon d’Or | 00:42
MESSI REIGNS SUPREME
Meanwhile Lionel Messi won a record-extending eighth men’s Ballon d’Or after a remarkable season capped off by leading Argentina to a World Cup title in Qatar.
He now leads great rival Cristiano Ronaldo by three trophies, something which lends weight to claims that Messi is the greatest player of all time.
“It’s nice to be here once more to enjoy this moment,” Messi said. “To be able to win the World Cup and achieve my dream.”
He added: “I couldn’t imagine having the career I’ve had and everything I’ve achieved, the fortune I’ve had to be part of the best team in history.
“All of them [Ballon d’Or awards] are special for different reasons.”
Erling Haaland finished second after scoring a whopping 52 goals for Manchester City and four for Norway, which won him the consolation prize of the Gerd Muller Trophy for the top-scorer of the year.
Haaland scored 52 in 53 games for his club (with nine assists) plus four goals for his national team.
Messi had 21 goals and 16 assists for PSG before moving to Inter Miami, and finished the voting period with 32 goals and 25 assists in 55 games across both clubs (all comps).
But his primary claim to the trophy was his seven goals – including two in the final – at the World Cup for Argentina.
Messi was not nominated last year – missing out on a nomination for the first time since 2005 – but this year rebounded in supreme style to reign supreme once more.
His former PSG teammate Kylian Mbappe finished third, while Manchester City midfielder Kevin de Bruyne was fourth.
Argentina teammate Emiliano Martinez won the Yashin Trophy as the world’s best goalkeeper, the Aston Villa star rewarded for his unbelievable performances in Qatar including a stunning last-minute save in extra time in the World Cup final. The award is named after the great Lev Yashin.
The Ballon d’Or has been presented since 1956 by French news magazine France Football, and is based (since 2022) on a player’s performances during the season (August 1 – July 31).
In 2021 and before, it was based on a player’s performances during the calendar year.
The award is voted by football journalists from around the world – one per nation, coming from the top-ranked 100 men’s countries and 50 women’s countries.
But there was one major problem – the award was presented in the middle of an international window for women’s teams, meaning many of the star nominees absent from the event.
As absent star Georgia Stanway said at an England press conference: “Obviously it’s nice to get the accolade, as well as a lot of my teammates who have been nominated as well. It’s unfortunate that we couldn’t be there.”
“We spoke about it as a group and said it would be nice in the future if the ceremony wasn’t on a matchday-1 so we can all enjoy the experience. It’s a potentially once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. You never know if you’ll get selected for such an accolade like that again. It would be nice to enjoy the experience and be there. You want to feel like a star among the stars. We’ve got a game tomorrow, but if it was planned a little better then it would be easier for a lot of female footballers to be there.”
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Real Madrid and England midfielder Jude Bellingham won the Kopa Trophy for the best player under 21, with the 20-year-old saying: “I just want to thank everyone who has played a role in my career to date, from Birmingham City, to Borussia Dortmund and now at Real Madrid.
“I want to thank my mum and my dad who are here tonight, my brother back home. Thank you for all the support. It means a lot and there’s more to come.”
In his last season with Borussia Dortmund, Bellingham struck 14 goals in 42 games as they came second in the German Bundesliga. He also guided England to the quarter-finals of the World Cup.
He added: “It’s a great list of players (previous winners) and it’s an honour to be in front of some of the best players in the world and the best players who have ever played the game.
“But the most important thing for me are team trophies. I’ve now got this one but I now have to kick on and help Real Madrid and England win trophies for many years.”
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