2023 Women's Ballon d'Or: Aitana Bonmati Crowned Best Female Player In The World After World Cup Win With Spain

Bonmati was instrumental to La Roja's success at the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand scoring three goals en-route to the final, and eventually being awarded the tournament's 'Golden Ball' award for the best player, as Spain edged out England 1-0 in the final to give Spain their first ever World Cup win, and the second nation to win World Cup in both men's and women's professional football. 

The 25-year-old Bonmati, already the award favourite heading into Monday night's ceremony, beat out the likes of Sam Kerr, Salma Paralluelo,
Fridolina Rolfö and Mary Earps to win the prestigious award. 

Two time and incumbent holder Alexis Putellas, who was on the injured list for much of the past season and only made brief cameos during Spain's triumphant World Cup campaign, failed to make the shortlist in spite of her accolades.

Bonmati's win caps off what's been an interesting period for women's football in Spain: whilst Barcelona and the the National Team are looking as strong as ever, Luis Ruiables' worldwide footballing ban and maligned manager Jorge Vilda's move to Morocco, a grey cloud that had looked over football in the country looks to finally have faded away. 

All eyes are now on Barcelona's women's team to see if they further tighten their dominance on the European footballing scene, having appeared in four of the last five finals of the Champions League, and setting record after record in domestic competitions.