Beth Mead unlucky not to dethrone Alexia Putellas and win Ballon d’Or

The images of Alexia Putellas clutching the Ballon d’Or trophy for the second successive year, becoming the first female player to do so since the introduction of the women’s award in 2018, were poignant.

Poignant first because Putellas was standing there with the ACL injury that crushed her Euro 2022 dream and will keep her out for much of this season. And poignant also because, although injury meant she was not a signatory of the statement from 15 Spain players that said the national team environment was affecting their emotional state and health, she is the talisman of the team, has expressed support for her teammates and was clutching the trophy for them as much as for herself.

“The only thing I’m going to say today about the national team is that it is a subject that makes me very sad,” she said after. “I think we have to talk about it, but also that today is not the day. Today is a day of celebration, historical for me.”

There is no doubt about her genius or extraordinary season. The Barcelona midfielder captained her side to a domestic treble, finished as the Champions League top scorer with 11 goals in 10 games and contributed 18 goals and 15 assists in the league.

Line up the best players in the world and, objectively, Putellas would likely be the first picked by any coach. Is she the best player on the planet? Probably. Did she have the best individual season? Arguably, by her standards, no.

The Ballon d’Or is not an award for the best player but the player deemed to have performed best over the previous season. If it were for the best player, it could be awarded to the same player every year until retirement. Is Megan Rapinoe objectively a better player than the best female footballer to play the game, Marta?