Alexia Putellas wins women's Ballon d'Or award over 3 Canadians, others
Sinclair, Lawrence, Fleming were in mix; Messi claims men's honour for 7th time
Alexia Putellas won the women's Ballon d'Or award for the first time on Monday after an outstanding season with Barcelona and Spain.
The 27-year-old midfielder helped Barca win the treble and scored 26 goals and 16 assists in 42 games overall. She netted in the Champions League final against Chelsea, and in August she was named UEFA women's player of the year.
"I'm very emotional, it's a very special moment," she said at the Paris ceremony through a translator. "I would like to start by thanking all my teammates, especially my current [Barcelona] teammates. For me it's a collective success."
The only previous women's award winners are Norway striker Ada Hegerberg in 2018, and U.S. forward Megan Rapinoe in 2019. The 2020 awards were cancelled because the coronavirus pandemic disrupted the season.
Christine Sinclair, Ashley Lawrence and Jessie Fleming, three stalwarts of Canada's Olympic gold medal-winning side in Tokyo this past summer, were in the mix to be voted world's top soccer player — the first time Canadians have been nominated for the prestigious award.
Putellas tallied 186 points to finish far ahead of club and country teammate Jenni Hermoso on 84.
Hermoso netted 31 goals to top the Spanish first division scoring charts for a third straight season. Hermoso was joint-top scorer in the Champions League with Chelsea's Fran Kirby on six goals.
Chelsea and Australia striker Sam Kerr placed third in the voting after 21 goals in the English Women's Super League and then six for Australia at the Tokyo Games. Kerr has maintained her excellent form with 13 goals in 12 games this season.
WATCH | CBC Sports' Signa Butler discusses the Canadian nominees:
Argentina's Lionel Messi won the Ballon d'Or award for the best player in the world for a record-stretching seventh time on Monday.
The forward added to his 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015 and 2019 trophies.
Copa America title
Messi, 34, ended the year in style after a brilliant final season with Barcelona and earning his first major international trophy with Argentina.
The 34-year-old Messi led Argentina to the Copa America title in July after losing in four major international finals.
"I'm very happy to be here, happy to keep fighting for new trophies," he said through a translator. "I don't know how many years I have left, but I hope many more. I'd like to thank all my [former] teammates at Barcelona and Argentina."
Messi finished with 613 points to top prolific Bayern Munich and Poland striker Robert Lewandowski on 580.
"I would like to say to Robert that it's an honour to be your rival, and everyone would say you deserved to win it last year," Messi said.
Awarded by France Football magazine, the Ballon d'Or has been given out to men every year since 1956 when Stanley Matthews won.
The 33-year-old Lewandowski set a new single-season scoring record for the Bundesliga with 41 goals — one more than late Germany great Gerd Muller — when he scored in the last minute of the last game.
Lewandowski scored in 19 consecutive games in all competitions for Bayern from February to September and he just missed out on equaling the record of scoring in 16 Bundesliga games in a row. Overall, he already has 25 goals in 20 games for Bayern this season.
His 11 goals in 12 games for Poland this year took his international tally to 74 in 128 games, just six less than Messi.
Chelsea and Italy midfielder Jorginho was third with 460 points after helping the London club win the Champions League and his nation win the European Championship. Real Madrid and France forward Karim Benzema was fourth on 239.
With files from CBC Sports
