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Alexia Putellas wins the 2021 FIFA Best award

The Spanish international was crowned the best female player in the world by FIFA.

By Kudzi Musarurwa
FC Barcelona V Madrid CFF - La Liga Iberdrola Photo by Xavier Bonilla/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Alexia Putellas has won FIFA’s best female player in the world for 2021. The award follows her Ballon D’Or win from November, which both reflect the excellent performances she put for both FC Barcelona and Spain throughout last year.

During FIFA’s ceremony today which also saw Christiane Endler (Goalkeeper of the Year), Emma Hayes (Coach of the Year), and Christine Sinclair (Special Award) also be awarded, Putellas was probably the most straight-forward winner that was announced.

Her performances led FC Barcelona to a historic treble for the first time in their history, winning the Primera Iberdrola title, the UEFA Women’s Champions League and the Copa de la Reina. She has also helped Spain qualify for the 2022 European Championships and also have them well on their way to qualify for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup. Putellas finished the year with 17 goals in 19 appearances for Barcelona, as well as five goals in 12 appearances for Spain.

Alexia Putellas was up against fellow teammate Jennifer Hermoso and Australia’s Sam Kerr. Hermoso was almost as impressive as Putellas during Barcelona’s treble season, finishing the calendar year with 51 goals in all competitions, the most for any women’s player that year. Sam Kerr had a strong season with Chelsea, helping them to the UWCL final and the WSL title as well.

Speaking to the live audience after accepting her award, Putellas stated that she was “very happy and thrilled” to have won the award. She also thanked her teammates for helping her and congratulated them as this was “their award as well”. Putellas also spoke about the rise of women’s football in Spain, stating that they always had the talent they just needed time and to put in the work for them to reach this level and that she hoped that they would continue to get better.

FIFA Best voting is done by a combination of team captains and coaches, media representatives from each member nation, and fans. As per FIFA, “Fans’ votes will count for 25 per cent of the total ballot. The remaining 75 per cent will be distributed evenly between the national coaches of FIFA Member Associations, their team captains and a select group of football journalists from those countries.”