Ballon d’Or 2024: Aitana Bonmati, Caroline Graham Hansen, Mallory Swanson - Who will win the women’s award?
Updated 22/10/2024 at 13:24 GMT+1
The 2024 Ballon d’Or ceremony is around the corner, so who are the leading contenders for the women’s prize? 2023 winner Aitana Bonmati is among the favourites, while her Barcelona team-mates Caroline Graham Hansen and Alexia Putellas could feature, while the likes of Ada Hegerberg, Marie-Antoinette Katoto and Olympic champion Mallory Swanson will also fancy their chances.
Watch USA's women celebrate winning football gold as Cruise and Rapinoe applaud
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The 2024 Ballon d’Or winners will be announced on October 28, but can anyone stop Aitana Bonmati from picking up the women’s award for the second year in a row?
The Barcelona midfielder appears to be the leading contender, but will face competition from within her own club, while several leading Americans feature among the nominees following the USA’s Olympic gold at Paris 2024.
Bonmati picked up the prize last year, ahead of Australia’s Sam Kerr and fellow Spain international Salma Paralluelo.
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Picking out the favourites for the Ballon d’Or Feminin
Aitana Bonmati
The Barcelona playmaker has once again had an outstanding year since picking up her first Ballon d’Or Feminin award in 2023.
Bonmati scored the opening goal in Barca’s 2-0 Women’s Champions League final win over Lyon in May and was named player of the competition, having also provided 11 assists to help the club win a fifth straight Liga F title.
The 26-year-old scored a career high 19 goals across all club competitions in the previous campaign and helped Spain win the UEFA Nations League, scoring in the 2-0 victory over France to secure the title, just months after her nation won the World Cup.
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‘This past year has been incredible’ - Ballon d'Or Feminin winner Bonmati
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Caroline Graham Hansen
Sticking with Barcelona, Caroline Graham Hansen could be Bonmati’s greatest challenger for the Ballon d’Or award.
The Norway international led the Liga F charts last season, scoring 21 goals and setting up another 19, while she also went into the international break as the joint leader for this season on assists, with four.
Graham Hansen is an integral part of the Barca set-up and was named in the UEFA’s best XI for the Women’s Champions League last season.
Ada Hegerberg
Graham Hansen’s Norway team-mate Ada Hegerberg has gone through hell and back to reach the top of the game again, having suffered an ACL injury in 2020, followed by a stress fracture.
But the winner of the inaugural Ballon d’Or Feminin in 2018 has won plenty more admirers for her fightback, and she is flying again now.
Hegerberg scored 12 goals on the way to yet another French league title for Lyon, their 17th in the last 18th seasons. A muscle injury limited her involvement in the Champions League final defeat to Barcelona, where she was restricted to a late cameo off the bench, but she scored five goals to help them reach the decider.
Mallory Swanson
It has been a standout year on the international stage for Mallory Swanson, who scored the only goal in the USA’s 1-0 win over Brazil to win Olympic gold at Paris 2024.
The Chicago Red Stars forward was already a star in her home country but will go down in USWNT history following her second half strike for Emma Hayes’ side.
Swanson scored four goals throughout the tournament, with her achievements at the Games making her a front runner to become the first American to win the Ballon d’Or Feminin since Megan Rapinoe in 2019.
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Watch as Swanson grabs winning goal for USA against Brazil in women's football final
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Marie-Antoinette Katoto
Keeping up with Lyon is not easy in France and although Paris Saint-Germain have plenty of financial firepower, hanging on to Marie-Antoinette Katoto has arguably been their best bit of business.
The France striker has spent her entire career at PSG, and while the club have lost their top scorers from the past two seasons to Lyon - Kadiatou Diani (a notable absentee from the Ballon d’Or list) and Tabitha Chawinga - Katoto has stayed to lead the line.
With the pressure on France at Paris 2024, the 25-year-old finished the Olympics as top scorer with five in total - a small consolation after her side were knocked out in the quarter-finals, while she also scored 11 league goals last season as PSG won the Coupe de France.
Which English players are nominated for the Ballon d’Or Feminin?
Three players are trying to become the first English woman to win the Ballon d’Or Feminin - Lauren Hemp, Lucy Bronze and Lauren James.
Bronze has come close before, finishing second behind Megan Rapinoe in 2019, and the now Chelsea full-back is on the list following her success at Barcelona last season, where she won four trophies.
James was the Women’s Super League’s joint second top scorer last season, netting 13 times to help Chelsea snatch the title away from Manchester City, but has struggled with injury so far this campaign.
Hemp has already had an impressive start to the season with two goals and two assists, with the City winger arguably the most consistent performer for England over the past year, as they build-up to next summer’s European Championship title defence.
She was awarded with an MBE in the New Year Honours.
Who are some of the other Ballon d’Or Feminin contenders?
The omissions of France and Lyon striker Kadiatou Diani and the USA’s Naomi Girma raised a few eyebrows, but there are plenty of other players who could pip some of the names above to the trophy.
Two-time winner Alexia Putellas could well be in the running, though injury restricted the playmaker to just 15 starts last season, before scoring a stoppage time goal in the Champions League final. But she experienced a rare on pitch low, missing a late penalty as Spain missed out on Olympic bronze to Germany.
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'Absolutely incredible!' - Watch as Putellas misses last-minute penalty to give Germany bronze
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But Putellas has started this season on fire with seven goals and three assists in Europe and Liga F, putting her firmly in the thoughts of the voting panel.
Tabitha Chawinga impressed with 18 league goals for PSG last season, earning her a move to Lyon, while Bunny Shaw is consistently showing why is one of the best players in the WSL, scoring 21 goals last season for runners-up City.
Brazil’s Gabi Portilho, Barcelona and Spain forward Salma Paralluelo and the USA’s Trinity Rodman are among the others who deserve a mention.
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