Barcelona star wins Ballon d’Or for second straight year as Catalans complete podium | OneFootball

Barcelona and Spain star Aitana Bonmati has won the Ballon d’Or for a second straight year, becoming the second player to win the award back-to-back after teammate Alexia Putellas. The Blaugrana have now won the award on the women’s side for four straight seasons.

Bonmati, icon and standout player from Spain’s World Cup win in 2023, completed another impressive campaign with the Blaugrana over the last year. Barcelona dominated domestically, and retained the Champions League by beating Olympique Lyon 2-0 in the final in Bilbao last season. It now establishes a run of four straight years where the Ballon d’Or has been won by a Barcelona and Spain player, after Putellas won it in 2021 and 2022.

Some had expected Norwegian teammate Caroline Graham Hansen to pip Bonmati to the award, after a stellar season, in which she scored 32 goals and gave 29 assists in just 40 matches. She came second, while another of their Barcelona teammates Salma Paralluelo completed the podium in a feat only emulated by Barcelona’s men’s side in 2010.