Alexia Putella secures third Ballon d'Or – Spanish triumph

On Monday, Alexia Putella was crowned the winner of the Ballon d'Or féminin, her third title in the history of the award. In the vote she beat the Spaniard Clàudia Pina and the Englishwoman Alessia Russo.

Third title for Putellas

The win marks Putellas' third Ballon d'Or, after she had already received the award in 2021 and 2022. With this, she follows the Spaniard Aitana Bonmatí, who held the title for the previous three years.

London City Lionesses and earlier successes

Since the summer, the 32‑year‑old Putellas has been playing for the London City Lionesses in England. Previously she spent more than a decade at FC Barcelona, where she won the triple of Champions League, national league title and national cup in the last season.

Other candidates and world ranking

In the vote, besides Putellas, Clàudia Pina and Alessia Russo were also in the running. The German Klara Bühl finished in twelfth place, while her club teammates Momoko Tanikawa (rank 23) and Pernille Harder (rank 7) also made the top‑30. Harder therefore achieved the best result of a Bundesliga player this year.

In a detailed statement, Putellas thanked the teammates, coach Pere and the entire club staff. She emphasized that achieving the third Ballon was a credit to the whole team and recalled the injury to her own legs that she had to overcome.

The second report highlights that all women's awards – except for the top‑scorer – were won by Spaniards, Spanish coaches or FC Barcelona. Putellas called the triumph a “great honour” and promised to continue building on the achievement.