Portland Thorns captain Christine Sinclair finished in 6th place, Ashley Lawrence (Paris Saint-Germain) and Jessie Fleming (Chelsea FC) follow in 8th and 9th place. The Canadian women won Olympic gold in Tokyo last August.
Alexia Putellas helped Barcelona win three trophies, scoring 26 goals in 42 games.
Midfielder, she notably hit the mark in the Champions League final, against Chelsea. In August, she was named UEFA’s player of the year.
I am very moved, it is a very special moment, she declared during the Parisian ceremony. I thank all my teammates, especially with Barcelona. It’s a success as a team.
The only previous winners were Ada Hegerberg in 2018 and Megan Rapinoe in 2019.
On the men’s side, Argentina’s Lionel Messi won the Ballon d’Or for the seventh time ending the year on a high after a brilliant last season with Barcelona.
Messi led Argentina to the Copa America title in July, having been in the losing lineup in four international finals.
I am very happy to continue to fight for new trophies
, said the 34-year-old athlete.
I hope to play for several more years. I want to thank all my (former) teammates with Barcelona and Argentina.
Messi finished with 613 points, edging Bayern Munich and Poland striker Robert Lewandowski (580).
It’s an honor to be Robert’s rival, Messi said. Everyone looks like you deserved to win last year.
The 33-year-old Lewandowski set a Bundesliga record with 41 goals in a single season.
He scored in 19 consecutive games with Bayern, from February to September.
Lewandowski has 25 goals in 20 games for Bayern in 2021.
His 11 goals in 12 games for Poland this year brought his international total to 74 in 128 games (Messi is 80 goals).
The Women’s Ballon d’Or is awarded by the magazine France Football since 2018, while the men’s section dates back to 1956.
