Barcelona's Alexia Putellas has become the first Spain international to win the Ballon d'Or since 1960 after leading her club to the Treble this year. She was named the best women's player in the world on Monday as she received the Ballon d'Or Feminin.
Putellas, who was also named UEFA Women's Player of the Year in August, is the first Spanish winner since Luis Suarez in 1960. "Honestly, it is a bit emotional. Very special. It is great to be here with all my teammates. We've lived and experienced so much together, especially last season," she said.
"I would like to thank all my teammates, all my teammates throughout my career and the ones I have right now. This is an individual prize but football is a team sport.
Barca teammate Jennifer Hermoso came in second place while while Chelsea's Sam Kerr was voted third. Lionel Messi won the men's award to extend his record haul to seven.
After a record-breaking year, Barca had an unmatched five players among the 20 finalists, with Jennifer Hermoso, Lieke Martens, Sandra Panos and Irene Paredes also nominated for the award.
However, Putellas was deemed the outstanding player of a side which won the Primera Division, the Copa de la Reina and the Champions League for the first time ever, beating Chelsea 4-0 in the final.
The midfielder becomes just the third woman to win the Ballon d'Or after Ada Hegerberg, the inaugural winner in 2018, and Megan Rapinoe, who won it in 2019. There was no award in 2020 due to the pandemic.
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