Alexia Putellas of the London City Lionesses and Spain has won the Ballon d'Or for a third time, beating former Barcelona teammate Ewa Pajor and Manchester City's Khadija Shaw to claim the prize on Monday. Putellas previously won the award in 2021 and 2022, and becomes the second woman to win it three times after Barça's Aitana Bonmatí, who was named the world's best player in 2023, 2024 and 2025.
"All the boys and girls around the world -- if you love football and if you want to play football, play football," Putellas said. "It doesn't matter if you're a boy or if you're a girl. It doesn't matter where you come from. Don't listen if someone tells you, you can't do it. Believe in yourself."
Putellas left Barça after 14 years at the club to join the Lionesses last summer. She was the outstanding player as the Spanish giants won the Champions League last season, scoring eight goals and providing seven assists in 11 appearances as Barça were crowned European champions for a fourth time. The midfielder was also key as Barça completed a quadruple for the second time in the club's history, adding the Liga F, Copa de la Reina and Spanish Supercopa titles. The award completes Putellas' comeback to the top of the game after an ACL injury in 2022 limited her to just 33 appearances over the following two seasons. She later regained her starting place and her pre-injury level.
Putellas is the first active Women's Super League player to win the Ballon d'Or. Previous winners include Ada Hegerberg and Megan Rapinoe. Pajor and Shaw completed the podium, while Bonmatí was not nominated after missing most of the season with a broken leg. Pajor was the Champions League top scorer with 11 goals, finishing with 31 strikes in all competitions. Shaw scored 27 goals in 32 appearances as City won the WSL and the FA Cup.
Barça also dominated the other women's awards. Vicky López was named Women's Young Talent of the Year for the second year running, Pere Romeu was named Women's Coach of the Year, Cata Coll won Goalkeeper of the Year, and the women's team was named Women's Club of the Year. The Women's Striker of the Year did not go to a Barça player, with CF Pachuca and Mexico's Charlyn Corral claiming the award.
Source: ESPN Soccer · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing