Aitana Bonmati secures 2nd consecutive Ballon d’Or Féminin as Arsenal star comes 8th | OneFootball

Aitana Bonmati has won the coveted Ballon d’Or Féminin for the second year in a row.

The Spanish midfielder had a stellar season with FC Barcelona, winning the quadruple and the Nations League with Spain.

However, she finished in a disappointing fourth place at the Olympics.

Top 10 Rankings:

Barcelona dominates

Bonmati’s teammate Caroline Graham-Hansen also had a fantastic season, but her national team, Norway, did not perform well in international competitions, likely costing her some points.

Bonmati’s clutch of goals in the Champions League semi-final and final likely contributed to her win.

Salma Paralluelo, another Barcelona teammate, secured third place, completing a podium sweep for the club.

This highlights Barcelona’s dominance in women’s football, further emphasised by them winning the women’s club of the year award.

USWNT and Arsenal representation

USWNT players secured fourth, fifth, sixth, and ninth place. Their Olympic gold medal win likely split the votes among them, as no single player dominated the tournament.

Arsenal’s Mariona Caldentey ranked eighth, a testament to her strong performance with Barcelona. Both Caldentey and Bonmati are known for their team-oriented play and exceptional playmaking skills.

Subjectivity in voting

It will be interesting to see how the judges have voted once they are published in France Football magazine later this week. The awards generate a lot of interest and controversy as fans disagree on the winner and will make their disappointment known on social media.

The reality is voting is extremely subjective, despite the guidelines and one of the main candidates, Naomi Girma was not even named in the 30-player shortlist this year, something that happened for two years in a row to Caroline Grahah Hansen, for example.

A well-deserved win

Congratulations to Aitana Bonmati, a deserving winner and a classy player on and off the pitch.