(Football news) Barcelona football Alexia Putellas has retained her Ballon d’Or award for the best female footballer in 2022. The 28 year old is currently out with an anterior cruciate ligament injury and was forced to miss Spain’s Euro 2022 campaign. Prior to that, she was the top scorer in the Champions League with 11 goals in just 10 games. Arsenal striker Beth Mead finished in second place while Chelsea forward Sam Kerr was third. 

Mead was named as the best player in Euro 2022, finishing as the top scorer and winning the Golden Boot as the Lionesses went on to secure their first major trophy with a 2-1 win over Germany at the Wembley Stadium. Mead’s international teammates Lucy Bronze and Millie Bright were also nominated after stellar seasons with Bronze finishing 10th and Bright 15th. Putellas is expected to be sidelined for a long time but has said that “it’s certainly not a battle that is won just yet”.

Putellas captained FC Barcelona as they secured the treble during the 2021/22 season, securing the Spanish title for the third consecutive time with the 28 year old scoring 18 goals and providing 15 assists. However, the Catalan giants succumbed to a 3-1 defeat to Lyon in the Champions League final. Speaking after winning the Ballon d’Or, Putellas said "I'm very happy to be back here. A year ago I was able to win this prize and it pushed me to want to get even better. Without my team-mates this wouldn't have been possible. I want to thank the technical staff and the coach as well. And to thank everyone involved at the club off the pitch.”

Also read: 120,000 school kids to watch FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup: FIFA

Women's Ballon d'Or top 20 list

1. Alexia Putellas (Barcelona / Spain, midfielder)

2. Beth Mead (Arsenal / England, forward)

3. Sam Kerr (Chelsea / Australia, forward)

4. Lena Oberdorf (Wolfsburg / Germany, midfielder)

5. Aitana Bonmati (Barcelona / Spain, midfielder)

6. Alex Popp (Wolfsburg / Germany, forward)

7. Ada Hegerberg (Lyon /Norway, forward)

8. Wendie Renard (Lyon / France, defender)

9. Catarina Macario (Lyon / United States, midfielder)

10. Lucy Bronze (Barcelona / England, defender)

11. Vivianne Miedema (Arsenal / Netherlands, forward)

12. Christiane Endler (Lyon / Chile, goalkeeper)

13. Alex Morgan (San Diego Wave / United States, forward)

14. Selma Bacha (Lyon / France, defender)

15. Millie Bright (Chelsea / England, defender)

16. Asisat Oshoala (Barcelona / Nigeria, forward)

17. Marie-Antoinette Katoto (Paris St-Germain / France, forward)

18. Trinity Rodman (Washington Spirit / United States, forward)

19. Fridolina Rolfo (Barcelona / Sweden, midfielder)

20. Kadidiatou Diani (Paris St-Germain / France, forward)