Kerr snubbed for prestigious football award

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Spanish subordinate Alexia Putellas won the women's Ballon d'Or for the 2nd consecutive twelvemonth pursuing different outstanding play with Barcelona.

Putellas scored 42 goals and delivered 22 assists past season. She became the archetypal subordinate to triumph the grant twice.

With Barcelona, she won the Spanish League and reached the Champions League final. She has been sidelined since July aft injuring her near genu and undergoing country connected the eve of the Women's European Championship.

Putellas bushed retired chap forwards Beth Mead of Arsenal and England and Sam Kerr of Chelsea and Australia for the grant astatine the ceremonial successful Paris. A sheet of planetary journalists chose the winners.

Awarded by France Football magazine, the Ballon d'Or has been fixed retired to men each twelvemonth since 1956 erstwhile Stanley Matthews won. The women's trophy was created successful 2018, and some were canceled successful 2020 due to the fact that of the pandemic.

Karim Benzema won the men's Ballon d'Or for the archetypal clip aft a superb play with Real Madrid capped by the Champions League and Spanish league titles.

Benzema, astatine 34, became the oldest victor since the archetypal recipient successful 1956, Stanley Matthews.

"Age is conscionable a fig for me," helium said. "People play until their aboriginal years present and I inactive person this burning desire. It is this thrust that has kept maine going and ne'er allowed maine to fto up."

Benzema won up of Sadio Mané and Manchester City playmaker Kevin De Bruyne. Mané played for Liverpool past play and joined Bayern Munich successful the summer.

"I'm truly proud, it's a batch of enactment and a kid's imagination travel true," Benzema said.

For the archetypal clip this year, the Ballon d'Or was based connected achievements from the erstwhile season. It utilized to beryllium based connected performances done calendar years.

In different awards, the Kopa Trophy for the champion under-21 subordinate went to 18-year-old Barcelona midfielder Gavi, portion Robert Lewandowski won the Gerd Müller grant for the champion striker of the year.

The Lev Yashin grant for champion goalkeeper went to Real Madrid's Thibaut Courtois.

Ballon d'Or organisers added a humanitarian prize named aft the precocious Brazil midfielder Socrates. The trophy went to Liverpool's Sadio Mané for his foundation enactment successful Senegal including gathering a infirmary and schoolhouse donations.

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