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Matildas captain Sam Kerr has finished second in the Ballon d’Or Féminin, the most prestigious individual award in football.
Kerr has finished in the top 10 each year since the female version of the award was founded in 2018, and finished third in the last two campaigns.
But the Chelsea superstar was this year pipped to the prize by Spain superstar Aitana Bonmati, the standout player at the recent Women’s World Cup as she led her nation to victory.
25-year-old midfield maestro Bonmati also claimed a fourth-straight Spanish league title with Barcelona as well as the Women’s Champions League.
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Kerr led Chelsea to a domestic double last season with 29 goals in 38 appearances, and continued her record-breaking feats with the Matildas including contributing to their best-ever World Cup finish of fourth.
Fellow Matildas star Hayley Raso, now with Real Madrid, finished 17th in the polling, having racked up 11 goals and seven assists in 41 matches, starring for Manchester City before a big move to Real Madrid this off-season.
It was the first time two Australians had ever been nominated for football’s highest individual honour.
The Ballon d’Or has been presented since 1956 by French news magazine France Football, and is based (since 2022) on a player’s performances during the season (August 1 – July 31).
In 2021 and before, it was based on a player’s performances during the calendar year.
The award is voted by football journalists from around the world – one per nation, coming from 170 men’s countries and 50 women’s countries.
But there was one major problem – the award was presented in the middle of an international window for women’s teams, meaning many of the star nominees absent from the event.
As absent star Georgia Stanway said at an England press conference: “Obviously it’s nice to get the accolade, as well as a lot of my teammates who have been nominated as well. It’s unfortunate that we couldn’t be there.”
“We spoke about it as a group and said it would be nice in the future if the ceremony wasn’t on a matchday-1 so we can all enjoy the experience. It’s a potentially once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. You never know if you’ll get selected for such an accolade like that again. It would be nice to enjoy the experience and be there. You want to feel like a star among the stars. We’ve got a game tomorrow, but if it was planned a little better then it would be easier for a lot of female footballers to be there.”
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Real Madrid and England midfielder Jude Bellingham won the Kopa Trophy for the best player under 21, with the 20-year-old saying: “I just want to thank everyone who has played a role in my career to date, from Birmingham City, to Borussia Dortmund and now at Real Madrid.
“I want to thank my mum and my dad who are here tonight, my brother back home. Thank you for all the support. It means a lot and there’s more to come.”
In his last season with Borussia Dortmund, Bellingham struck 14 goals in 42 games as they came second in the German Bundesliga. He also guided England to the quarter-finals of the World Cup.
He added: “It’s a great list of players (previous winners) and it’s an honour to be in front of some of the best players in the world and the best players who have ever played the game.
“But the most important thing for me are team trophies. I’ve now got this one but I now have to kick on and help Real Madrid and England win trophies for many years.”
