Alexia Putellas is a worthy Ballon d’Or winner but limited list illustrates her flaws | Women’s football

After four years of waiting, Alexia Putellas is once again the queen of women’s football. By receiving the Ballon d’Or for a record third time, confirming Spain’s dominance of the award, the 32-year-old reinforces her status as one of the greatest players of all time.

It was the sixth consecutive year in which the honor went to either Putellas or her international teammate, Aitana Bonmatí, and it was symbolic of Putellas’ resurgence following her return from the ACL injury she suffered to her left knee in 2022, her refusal to give up her career at that setback, and her majestic rise to the top.

The midfielder’s 14 goals – eight goals and six assists – in 11 Women’s Champions League matches last season, helping Barcelona win the European title, gave her the highest number of votes, as well as her starring role in Spain’s victory in the Women’s Nations League final last December. Her new club, the London City Lionesses, will bask in the prestige of having the Ballon d’Or on their team, but Putellas, who spent 14 years at Barcelona, ​​made it clear who she wanted to thank, saying in her acceptance speech “This award is for Barcelona”.

Barcelona took home many of the biggest awards of the night, with Cata Coll taking home the goalkeeper award, Pere Romeu the coach award and Vicky López the young player award, as well as Ewa Pajor finishing second to Putellas for the main honor and Clara Serrajordi finishing second in the young player vote. It was almost a perfect night for the European champions, until their president, Joan Laporta, bizarrely spoke about his belief that their men’s team could win the Champions League this season, appearing to only have eyes for men’s football, although he specifically accepted the Women’s Club of the Year award.

That Freudian slip aside, Monday night’s glamorous ceremony at the London Palladium took place without the sexist controversy that marred the early years after France Football belatedly added the women’s prize for the first time in 2018. Progress has been made – women’s football now receives at least one prize for the same categories as the men, but the event still falls short of full equality. More to the point, there is still no real parity in the length of shortlists. Why, for example, were 10 players nominated for the men’s young talent award, but only five for the women’s? The same was true for goalkeeper awards.

The live show also demonstrated a disappointing lack of current or former players presenting awards, with the exception of Lucy Bronze, who was on stage to present López with her award. Putellas receiving the Women’s Ballon d’Or from Michael Owen, rather than perhaps Mia Hamm, Birgit Prinz or Sun Wen, was perhaps a reminder that there are very few past winners of the women’s award for organizers to choose from – only Ada Hegerberg, Megan Rapinoe, Putellas and Bonmatí have won this trophy – because it was introduced so late, in 2018.

Many fans will also have found it a shame that the dates covered by the relevant voting period – August 3, 2025 to July 19, 2026, in fact for last season – are clearly based on the conclusion of this summer’s Men’s World Cup and therefore do not include this year’s rearranged Wafcon, which took place from July 26 to August 16. Performances at this tournament will instead be taken into account for next year’s prizes. This meant, for example, that Cameroon head coach Wafcon winner Valentine Nguele was not nominated for the Coach of the Year award, and there was a general dearth of recognized African players overall, aside from Temwa Chawinga becoming the first African player to finish in the women’s top 10. Without doubt, she deserved to be even higher.

Putellas is very deserving of the main prize, although some will feel it is a missed opportunity for a player from one of the countries least likely to succeed in major international competitions to be recognised, given that next year’s Women’s World Cup will inevitably ensure that the annual awards nights focus on what is happening in Brazil. Poland’s Pajor, for example, finished second after a fantastic campaign with Barcelona, ​​but she doesn’t think she can do better next year, simply because of her nationality.

The same goes for Jamaica’s Khadija Shaw, who finished third after propelling Manchester City to their first domestic title in a decade – although the fact that she made the top three despite not playing Champions League football speaks volumes about how revered she is. Haitian Melchie Dumornay – the best player Moving the Goalposts had the pleasure of seeing play live in the 2025-26 season – finished fourth. Aged 23, her time may come in the future, but it will probably be an even year.

If she continues on her current form, you’d have to be brave to bet that Putellas won’t retain her crown next year, with Spain aiming for a successful defense of their world title next summer. A humble role model for the sport, it is a privilege to see her grace the pitch with her deft touches, leadership and creativity and being a three-time Ballon d’Or winner is nothing less than her storied career deserves.

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