Barcelona's Bonmati claims Women's Ballon d'Or for 2nd straight year
Aitana Bonmati became the second woman to win the Ballon d'Or two years in a row on Monday, beating out competition from Barcelona teammates Caroline Graham Hansen and Salma Paralluelo to claim the sport's highest individual honor in Paris.
Alexia Putellas won the Ballon d'Or in 2021 and 2022, giving Spain and Barcelona complete ownership of the award over the last four years.
Ada Hegerberg and Megan Rapinoe are the only other players to earn the honor since it was inaugurated in 2018.
"I always say this is not something that you can do alone, I'm so lucky to be surrounded by wonderful players who help me to keep growing into a better player. So thank you to my teammates because without them I wouldn't be here," Bonmati said upon receiving the trophy once more.
Prior to receiving her individual accolade, Bonmati and some of those teammates took the stage as Barca was recognized as the best women's team of the year.
Bonmati played a key role in Barcelona's historic quadruple, recording 19 goals and a single-season career-high 18 assists while helping the team win La Liga F for the fifth consecutive year, the Women's Champions League for a third time, and the Copa de la Reina and Supercopa de Espana.
The 26-year-old - who dispatched the decisive goal in Barcelona's 2-0 win over Lyon in the Champions League final - was also named the competition's best player for a second season running.
2024 Ballon d'Or Feminin rankings
| Rank | Player | Club |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aitana Bonmati ๐ช๐ธ | Barcelona |
| 2 | Caroline Graham Hansen ๐ณ๐ด | Barcelona |
| 3 | Salma Paralluelo ๐ช๐ธ | Barcelona |
| 4 | Sophia Smith ๐บ๐ธ | Portland Thorns |
| 5 | Lindsey Horan ๐บ๐ธ | Lyon |
| 6 | Mallory Swanson ๐บ๐ธ | Chicago Red Stars |
| 7 | Marie-Antoinette Katoto ๐ซ๐ท | PSG |
| 8 | Mariona Caldentey ๐ช๐ธ | Arsenal/Barcelona |
| 9 | Trinity Rodman ๐บ๐ธ | Washington Spirit |
| 10 | Alexia Putellas ๐ช๐ธ | Barcelona |
| 11 | Patricia Guijarro ๐ช๐ธ | Barcelona |
| 12 | Barbra Banda ๐ฟ๐ฒ | Orlando/Shanghai RCB |
| 13 | Lauren James ๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ | Chelsea |
| 14 | Ada Hegerberg ๐ณ๐ด | Lyon |
| 15 | Khadija Shaw ๐ฏ๐ฒ | Manchester City |
| 16 | Tabitha Chawinga ๐ฒ๐ผ | Lyon/PSG |
| 17 | Alyssa Naeher ๐บ๐ธ | Chicago Red Stars |
| 18 | Gabi Portilho ๐ง๐ท | Corinthians |
| 19 | Giulia Gwinn ๐ฉ๐ช | Bayern Munich |
| 20 | Lucy Bronze ๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ | Chelsea/Barcelona |
| 21 | Mayra Ramirez ๐จ๐ด | Chelsea/Levante |
| 22 | Glodis Viggosdottir ๐ฎ๐ธ | Bayern Munich |
| 23 | Tarciane ๐ง๐ท | Houston/Corinthians |
| 24 | Lea Schuller ๐ฉ๐ช | Bayern Munich |
| 25 | Sjoeke Nusken ๐ฉ๐ช | Chelsea |
| 26 | Yui Hasegawa ๐ฏ๐ต | Manchester City |
| 27 | Manuela Giugliano ๐ฎ๐น | Roma |
| 28 | Lauren Hemp ๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ | Manchester City |
| 29 | Ewa Pajor ๐ต๐ฑ | Barcelona/Wolfsburg |
| 30 | Grace Geyoro ๐ซ๐ท | PSG |
U.S. trio Sophia Smith, Mallory Swanson, and Trinity Rodman entered the ceremony with a decent shot of dethroning Bonmati after winning the gold medal at the Paris Olympics. France's Marie-Antoinette Katoto, who finished seventh in voting, had high hopes herself after finishing as the tournament's top scorer with five goals.
The United States' success in Paris didn't go unrecognized on Monday though, as bench boss Emma Hayes was named the best women's coach after leading the team back to the top step of the Olympic podium.