Audio By Carbonatix
Spain and Barcelona midfielder Aitana Bonmati has won the Women's Ballon d'Or for the first time.
The 25-year-old enjoyed a hugely successful year as she helped her club triumph in the Spanish top flight and Champions League, and her country win the World Cup in the summer.
She was also crowned Uefa's Player of the Year in August.
England goalkeeper Mary Earps achieved a fifth-place finish while team-mate Rachel Daly was 10th.
Fellow Lionesses Millie Bright and Georgia Stanway were also among the nominees.
Sam Kerr of Chelsea and Australia finished second, Barcelona and Spain teenager Salma Paralluelo was third, and Fridolina Rolfo of Barcelona and Sweden finished fourth.
"I'm very proud to win the Ballon d'Or," Bonmati said.
"Football is a collective sport so I'd like to extend this prize to my team-mates and staff."
She added at the end of her speech in English: "Finally congratulations to the other nominees. They're great footballers.
"As role models, we have a responsibility on and off the pitch. We should be more than athletes and keep leading by example and fighting together for a better, peaceful and equal world."
Spain's World Cup win was overshadowed by the fallout from Spanish football federation president Luis Rubiales kissing Jenni Hermoso after the final, which she said was not consensual.
Bonmati scored three goals at the tournament in Australia and New Zealand as Spain went on to beat England in the final.
She has now won four league titles with Barcelona and two Champions Leagues.
This was the fifth edition of the Women's Ballon d'Or, with Bonmati's Spain and Barcelona team-mate Alexia Putellas winning the past two.
Latest Stories
-
Chamber of Aquaculture Ghana calls for strong public-private partnerships to unlock finance and transform the sector
19 minutes -
Lions celebrate International Volunteer Day with over decades of service and impact
24 minutes -
3 dead, dozens injured in Mampong Abuontem head-on collision
33 minutes -
MoFFA shuts down several Eastern Region mortuaries over poor sanitation, non-compliance
34 minutes -
Domestic violence case: John Odartey Lamptey remanded over alleged brutal assault on wife
44 minutes -
Minority urges government to tackle smuggling and protect local farmers
47 minutes -
Ashanti regional minister drags Democracy Hub member to court over alleged galamsey remarks
49 minutes -
Mineral royalties surge across all sub-sectors in 2025; record strong gains in gold, manganese
50 minutes -
Police arrest five suspects behind robberies in Sefwi Bekwai
50 minutes -
Ghana’s economy to expand marginally to 5.9% in 2026 – Fitch Solutions
51 minutes -
Newage Agric Solutions donates rice, soybean oil and cash to MoFA for farmers’ day
51 minutes -
Analysis: After allocating over ₵1bn, parliament now turns on the OSP
1 hour -
OSP’s failure to stop Ofori-Atta is an irrecoverable mistake – Kpebu
2 hours -
UPSA confers posthumous honorary doctorate on former first lady Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings
2 hours -
Martin Kpebu says he has not been formally charged by OSP
2 hours
